Well La De Frickin’ Da
by Dreamer6164
Summary: AU Kagome Higurashi has been abused by her alcoholic father ever since her mother and baby brother died in a car accident. That was seven years ago. Is Kagome doomed to this fate forever? Or will a certain halfbreed find the will to help her?
1. Prologue: Hardships

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha (or any of the other characters that this might involve.)

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**AN about the naming of Well La De Frickin' Da: **

_Well with this being an abuse story anyone would think that it would have a name like Freedom or Escape. Something that would need motivation to get, but there are so many abuse stories out there, as I'm sure you're all aware of, that it just seemed overdone._

_When I was naming this story I was trying to think of something that would catch someone's eye. They would see the summary and think "Oh, well this is just another abuse story. La De Da." Hence the title._

_I know some people probably see this and think that I feel as if abuse is just la de da, but I don't. It sad that the people who are suppost to protect the victim end up harming them. Believe me, the name had nothing to do with the story itself, but more for the content it was written. Something that would leave the readers guessing._

_Hopefully this didn't offend anyone. If it did I'm truely sorry._

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_**Well La De Frickin' Da**

**Prologue**

All was quiet in the little town where Kagome Higurashi grew up and it even seemed peaceful. That is, to everyone that didn't know how Naraku Higurashi treated his daughter ever since the tragic accident that killed his wife and son. And absolutely no one knew about that.

Kagome stood in front of the bathroom mirror with tears streaming down her bruised face as she hurriedly tried to cover them up with makeup. She winced when she dabbed too hard a fresh one.

"Girl! Get down here now!" her father yelled from down stairs. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out.

Kagome rushed down the stairs, not wanting to get into deeper trouble than she already was in for reasons unknown to her. She slowed her pace when she got him in sight and timidly walked toward him. "You called for me Dad?" She could tell by the countless number of empty beer bottle on the ground that he was intoxicated and Kagome hated it when he was drunk.

Her father carelessly tossed another empty bottle across the room, then looked up at his daughter. "Pack your shit. We're moving."

Kagome looked at him in confusion. "What? Why?"

Naraku gaze on her hardened with rage. "Are you questioning my judgment, girl?" he yelled as he stood up and staggered over to her. Kagome took a step back as she recognized the look in his eyes. He reached out and grabbed her by the hair. "Are you running away from me, girl? After all I've done for you? Provided you the clothes on your back and a roof over your head and you have the nerve to ran from me?" He drew his hand back a slapped her across the face.

Kagome felt her body tense as his hand struck her face. She wanted to cry, but her pride wouldn't let her lower herself to that degrading level. She felt him throw her onto the floor, then reel back and kick her in the stomach. Kagome grunted in pain. "You are a worthless piece of filth! I wish you were never born! My life would have been so much easier!" he hollered as he kicked her continuously.

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and let the attacks come. It was pointless to struggle. It only made the beatings longer and fiercer. She just wanted it to end.

After a while, her father got bored with her and sat back down in his chair. "Get dinner started." he demanded as Kagome pulled herself off the ground and limped toward the kitchen with her hand of her stomach, "And bring me another beer!"

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They sat in the living room and ate dinner while watching a TV sitcom. Kagome eat very slowly. She was nervous and she wanted to ask him what he meant about them moving, but she was afraid of getting another beating.

"As I said before, we're moving tomorrow and you'll start going to your new school tomorrow as well." Naraku said as if reading her thoughts.

Kagome nodded in response. She didn't know why they had to move. They lived very contented here. Maybe he was afraid that someone would catch onto his abusive side. That was probably it.

As far as the new school went, it really didn't matter to Kagome. She was quiet and didn't make eye contact with anyone. She had no friends or even companions. Her father had strictly forbidden it and she knew that boyfriends where out of the question.

"Go pack your shit," her father told her as he threw his trash onto the floor. Kagome started to go up the stairs when he added, "and when you're done, get your ass down her and pick up this mess."

"Yes Dad." she said as she went up the rest of the stairs and into her room. She looked around her pitifully small room. Kagome sighed as she filled up one duffle bag with everything she owned.

After she zipped it up, she walked back down stairs and started picking up the messy living room. Her father had drank himself asleep yet again and was now lying on the couch. She walked over to him and stared at him. All she wanted was for him to love her. Why couldn't her love her like he use to when her mother was alive?

She shook her head of the heartbreaking though and finished cleaning. Then she walked back up to her room and fell asleep on her comfortless mattress.

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_Okay this is the first chapter, but I don't know when I'll update it because I'm trying to finish my other story first. I just wanted to see how well this one did. Thanks and please R&R!_


	2. Moving and Meeting People

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

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Chapter One **

The next morning Kagome was woken up by someone roughly pushing on her shoulders She moaned as the person pressed on her sore bruises. "Get up, you useless piece of dirt!" the person yelled.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes to meet her father's glare. She quickly looked down at her bed. "Hurry up! We have to go! Now!" he yelled then walked out of the room. Kagome sat up and looked around her empty bedroom. She sighed as she remembered all the memories that she would be leaving behind with this house. Some good and . . . some bad.

"You better get you ass down here right now, girl!" Naraku yelled from down stairs. Kagome hurriedly threw on a baggy pair of pants and a loose-fitting shirt. Then grabbed her purse and ran down stairs.

"Okay, I'm ready." Kagome said as she walked over to her father.

Naraku didn't even look at her as he walked out the door. "Well, come on! I want to get out of this godforsaken dump!" he hollered from outside. Kagome followed him to his rusty truck and climbed in on the passenger side. When Kagome buckled her seatbelt, Naraku threw a notebook with a pencil attached to it onto her lap.

Kagome looked down at it with dismay. "It's for school. I have to send you in there with something." Kagome nodded. "I'll pick you up after school. I think the house will be ready by then." he said as he pulled into a school's parking lot. "Get out!"

She scurried out of the truck and up the high school's steps. When she turned around the only thing that she could see of the truck was the black smoke coming out of its exhaust pipes. Kagome sighed as she walked into this unfamiliar building. She didn't know where to go or what to do. She just stood there waiting for someone to recognize that she was new and that she needed help.

Teenagers continued to pass her up all trying to get to their first class. The conversations that she heard amazed her. It was hard to believe that this school could be filled with normal kids. She didn't feel like she belonged there, she felt like she didn't deserve to be there.

A kid with long brown hair pulled back out of his face bumped into Kagome's shoulder causing her to wince in pain. "Hey, watch where you're going!" he yelled over his shoulder at her as he kept on walking. A guy that must have known him frowned.

"Oh come on Koga. That's no way to speak to a lady." he said as he turned to face Kagome. "Sorry about him. He's not quite right in the head. Especially since he almost ran you over."

Kagome blushed, but kept her eyes glued to the floor. "That's . . . that's alright."

The guy studied her for a moment. "I don't think we've met. Which is hard to believe since I know every pretty girl in this school. Are you new?" he asked and Kagome timidly nodded. "Well no wonder I didn't recognize you! Do you know where you're going?"

Kagome shook her head, "No."

"Okay well do you have your schedule?" he asked and again Kagome shook her head. "Then I guess I'm going to have to take you to the office first then. What's your name? Mine's Miroku Houshi."

"Kagome Higurashi." she quietly replied as they walked down the crowded hallway toward the office.

"Kagome. That's a beautiful name." Miroku said. "I'll have to introduce you to my girlfriend Sango Fujie. She's nice once you get pass the tomboyish act she puts on."

Kagome gulped. She knew that she wasn't supposed to make friends and of course this had never been a problem before. Everyone at her old school had just ignored her. She wasn't use to all this attention.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you?" he asked as he gave her a smile.

Kagome looked up at him and briefly made eye contact with him before looking back down at the floor. "Yeah."

Miroku chuckled. "You don't have to be so shy." he said as he opened the office's door for her. "Ladies first."

Kagome felt nervous as she walked into the office. She didn't want anyone to find out about how her father treated her. No matter how much he hit her she would always forgive and love him. Kagome suddenly stopped as a horrible thought entered her mind. What if they saw the bruises on her face? Would they ask how she got them? Miroku hadn't. Maybe no one will notice.

She began to feel anxious as she glared at the ground determined not to let anyone look at her face to long. Then she suddenly remembered that she had her purse with her and she kept some of her makeup in it. She looked up at Miroku, who was talking to the person that was behind the desk, and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned toward her. "Yes? What is it Kagome?"

"Um, do you know where the bathroom is?" she asked a little uneasily trying not to let him have a too long a look at her face.

Miroku raised an eyebrow at her. "It's down to that hallway over there. On the right." he answered as he pointed down the hallway that was mostly used by staff members.

Kagome nodded and took off toward the bathroom. She quickly stepped inside and shut and locked the door behind her. She walked over to the sink and look into the mirror. Her face wasn't to badly bruised, but she definitely had a lot of noticeable ones if anyone had looked at her too closely. Kagome reached into her purse and drug out the cover-up. She dabbed some on her hand and started to smear it all over her face.

When she got enough onto her face that you couldn't make out the bruises, she sighed. She had rings under her eyes from lack of sleep. Staying awake at night as she listened to her father yell and destroy things was catching up with her.

She walked out of the bathroom and back over to where Miroku was waiting for her. He handed her a piece of paper when she was close enough. "What's this?"

"It's your schedule. It has your assigned locker number on it as well." Miroku said as he pointed to where the number was and underneath it was what appeared to be her new locker combination.

"Thanks."

"Well, let me show you where it is." Miroku said as he grabbed her hand and lead her to where her locker would be. Kagome almost flinched when he went to grab her hand, but quickly stopped herself when she noticed that he was going for her hand.

He stopped in front of what Kagome assumed was her locker. "Kagome, when you're finished here I want you to meet some of my friends."

Kagome was shocked that this boy hadn't already got bored with her and walked off to be with someone else a little more talkative. Once again, Kagome nodded in response.

Once she put the only thing that she didn't need in her locker, which was her purse, she turned toward Miroku. "Okay, I'm finished."

Miroku frowned at her because she didn't appear to have very much stuff with her and was about to ask her about it when someone interrupted him. "Miroku! What do you think you're doing?" a girl said as she walked up to Miroku with hands on her hips.

"Oh, Sango, my love. So happy of you to join us." Miroku commented as he reached out for her hand, but she quickly withdrew it out of his grasp.

"Oh no you don't. Do you think that I'm blind enough not to know what is going on here?" she asked as she looked over at Kagome and gave her a condescending look. "You're already cheating on me, aren't you?"

Kagome saw Miroku blink in confusion and she started to panic. She didn't want this girl to think that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Especially with her! He was only being nice. She was about to voice her objective, but Miroku cut her off.

"It's not what you think, Sango!" he said as he took her hands in his. "This is Kagome Higurashi. She's new and I was just showing her around. I was only being friendly."

Sango wrenched her hand out of his grasp and turned in the opposite direction. "Do you know how many times you've been just 'friendly'? How do I know you haven't be cheating on me with her? I bet you didn't even tell her you had a girlfriend."

"Sango, you have to believe me! I would never--" Miroku started, but was interrupted by Kagome.

"He did tell me about you! It was one of the first things he told me!" Kagome explained desperately. "I don't think Miroku would cheat on you. He told me that he wanted me to meet you."

Sango stared at Kagome for a moment and it made her feel self-conscience so she quickly looked back down at the ground. "I-I don't know what to say. I guess I owe you both an apology then."

Miroku lifted up a hand to silence her. "No Sango, Kagome and I completely understand and if I had been in your situation, I probably would have thought the same thing." Kagome nodded in agreement.

"Thanks and I'm sorry again. You must think I'm a terrible person now." Sango stated, "I'm not normally so possessive, but when it comes to Miroku and other women, I get really nervous because I know what a womanizer he is."

"Th-that's alright, really. It doesn't matter." Kagome assured her timidly as she scuffed her right shoe on the ground. "And I don't think you're a terrible person just because you're making sure your boyfriend isn't cheating on you."

Sango gave her a relived smile. "Thanks. When you put it like that it doesn't sound so bad." she said, "So, you're new? . . . And you're name's Kagome Higurashi?"

Kagome nodded. "Yep." she squeaked out.

Miroku chuckled a little as he walked over to stand next to Sango. "As you can tell, Sango, Kagome's not a very social person." Miroku explained as Sango gave her an understanding smile, "You know, I was looking at her schedule and whatever classed she doesn't have with me, she has with you."

"Really? Well, that'll be helpful for you Kagome."

"There might have been one class that she didn't have with us though." Miroku said as he tried to think of which call it was.

"Can I see you're schedule?" Sango asked. Kagome pulled the paper with her schedule on it out of the notebook that she was carrying and handed it over to Sango, who quickly scanned it. "The only class that she doesn't have with up in the last period of the day."

Just as she finished her sentence, the warning bell rang. "Well, we better be to class. You have first hour with Sango, Kagome." Miroku informed her then he turned around and strode down the hallway to where ever his first class was.

"We better be getting to geometry. Ms. Kaede's nice enough, but when you're tardy she can be quite strict." Sango explained.

Kagome sighed as she followed Sango to the math room. She didn't understand why Sango and Miroku were being so nice to her. She wasn't even acknowledged at her old school and she wasn't use to all the attention, but she rather liked it.

Kagome smiled to herself as they walked down the hallway. If only for a little while, she almost forgot what she had to go home to and that having friends was something that could never happen.

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_I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this story. I really appreciatethem. I'm not sure when I'll get around to updating this again, so please bepatient with me.All kinds of things are going on at oncewith me. I'm lucky I can still hold my eyesopen. (lol) So, please R&R! It's what keeps me going!_


	3. A Feeling of Calmness

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

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Chapter Two**

The day was going better than Kagome first expected it to. She was being courted around the school to every class she had had so far by either Miroku or Sango. She still wasn't sure about the attention she was getting, but she thought that it was still nice to be noticed every once in awhile. The only doubt Kagome had about the whole attention thing was how long it was going to last.

It was the last period of the day and Sango had instructed her on where it was, but she was still completely lost. Kagome walked down the crowded hallway, staring at every class room door she saw to make sure none of them looked like her study hall class.

She was so wrapped up in looking in a classroom that she didn't see the person that she was about to bump into and apparently neither did he because he ran strait into her. The force knocked Kagome down onto her bottom causing her to wince in pain.

"Feh, watch it, wench!" he said as he rubbed the shoulder he bumped into her with.

Kagome looked up at him and the sight she saw made her eyes widen. He had long silver hair and at the top of his head were two little dog ears, that nestled into the beginning of his long bangs. Kagome got the sudden urge to touch them, but fought it. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't paying--" she said as she started to stand up and lost her balance.

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut ready for the impact of the hard floor, but it never came. Instead, she felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulders. She opened her eyes to find that the guy she had bumped into had caught her before she fell and for the first time she noticed his eyes.

They were amber. She had never seen someone with that color of eyes before, but then again she had never seen anyone with dog ears either. Who was this guy? _What_ was this guy? "Are you always such a klutz?" he asked with a smirk.

Kagome didn't hear what he asked her, she was to busy staring into his eyes. It was like she didn't have a choice but to stare at them. It felt strange to Kagome because she had never had the courage to look into a stranger's eyes for so long before, but . . . his didn't scare her as much as other people's did. "Did you hear me? I asked if you are always such a klutz?"

Kagome blinked and finally found the will to move her gaze from his eyes down to the ground. "Um . . . I was looking for my next class. I guess I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. Sorry."

"Well watch where you're going next time." he told her as he let go of her. The warning bell rang and the guy groaned. "If I'm tardy because of you--you're going to wish you had been looking where you were going."

Kagome coiled back in fear. She had heard threats before, but only from her father. She didn't know what this guy was capable of and the thought terrified her.

The guy, who's name was InuYasha, sensed the girl's fear and studied her for a moment. He didn't know why she was afraid of him. Everyone knew most of his threats where empty, especially ones he made toward girls. He looked closer and realized that he didn't recognize her. She had to be a new student. "Hey, there's no need to freak out on me."

Kagome looked down at the ground. She wasn't sure on what to say or do next. Kagome continued to scuff her shoe on the ground until she heard someone call out for the guy who was standing before her. "InuYasha! Honey! I was looking everywhere for you." said the girl who had run up to them. She had long black hair that reached passed the middle of her back that made her skin look beautifully pale. Kagome was in awe at how lovely she looked. "Hey Kikyo, I was just about to go and get you."

Kikyo put her arms around InuYasha's neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Kagome blushed as she watched them and she couldn't help but feel bad for herself because she knew that she would never be able to have a first kiss. As long as her father continued to drink she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to talk to anybody in front of him.

Kikyo seemed to notice Kagome because she stopped kissing InuYasha and looked over at her. "Who are you?" she asked as she scanned Kagome's clothing and noticed her overboard makeup job. She scaled at her. "Ugh, InuYasha, why are you talking to her?"

Kagome flushed cheeks reddened even more. "My name's Kagome Higurashi and I'm new." she squeaked out. She quickly looked over at InuYasha, who was staring at her and then she looked back down at her shoes.

Kikyo rolled her eyes and tugged on InuYasha's arm. "Come on, InuYasha. We've got to get to study hall before the bell rings." InuYasha looked away from Kagome and began to walk away with Kikyo.

Kagome watched them for a moment when she realized that they were going where she wanted to go. So she followed them silently to the classroom. It wasn't that far down from where they were, but she knew if she hadn't followed them that she never would have made it to class on time.

She walked into the classroom and found a seat in the back, one of her favorite spots. As she sat down, she noticed that the girl from before, Kikyo, was staring at her. Kagome started to feel self-conscious so she looked down at her desk and started playing with her pencil. She felt herself grow more vulnerable when she glanced up and saw her whispering to InuYasha, who was right next to her. Where they talking about her? What were they saying?

Before she could let her imagination take over, the teacher walked into the room. She has short black hair that was somehow managed into a ponytail on the top of her head. Her eyes were red and it gave Kagome the creeps. "Class, we have a new student today." she said boringly. "Her name's Kagome Higurashi. Could you stand up, please?"

Kagome hated it when teachers did this. It gave her attention and she wasn't use to it. She'd rather stand off to the side and not be noticed, but no, the teachers wanted everyone to know who she was.

Kagome stood up timidly, but keep her eyes on her desk. Everyone in the classroom turned to look at her and Kagome felt her face flush. "Well, since you're new, why don't you tell us something about yourself?"

"I . . . there's really nothing to tell." Kagome said softly, still not making eye contact with anyone.

"Alright, why don't you tell us some of your hobbies? What do you do in your spare time?" the teacher asked dully.

"Well, um, I guess . . . I know how to cook really well." Kagome suggested.

"Well, some people would consider that a hobby." the teacher replied tediously, "Alright then, for future references, my name's Ms. Kagura and I happen to be your teacher. You may take your seat now."

Kagome nodded as she sat back down when Ms. Kagura stopped her. "Hey wait a minute! Why are you sitting back there? You're the new student, you should be up front were all the action is. Why don't you empty seat next to Mr. InuYasha Takahashi?"

This teacher really must hate her. She sighed as she picked up her books and moved up to the front of the classroom. As she set her books down, she noticed she who she was sitting next to. It was the same guy from the hallway. She managed to collect enough courage to look at him and found him already looking at her. Kagome blushed as she met eye contact. She didn't know what it was about this guy, but something about his eyes calmed her.

He gave her a weird look when she continued to stare at him. "What?"

Kagome immediately looked away and opened up her book to start studying. Why did she look at him for so long? Now he was going to think she was weird. Not that she wasn't already labeled as strange, but still.

She skulled her herself for acted the way she did. She didn't want this guy to talk to her because she wasn't very good with words and she felt stupid when she hesitated.

She suddenly felt someone leaning over to her. She quickly glanced over to see InuYasha's face right next to hers. Kagome jumped a little out of surprise, but he steadied her by placing a hand on her forearm. Kagome could hear her heart thumping in her chest and wondered if InuYasha could too. "Why are you so quiet?" he asked in a whisper.

Kagome knew it was only a simple, innocent question, but her father flashed in her mind as she remembered him telling her never make any friends or she'd be punished. "I--I don't know." she answered hoping he stop talking to her.

InuYasha leaned back over in his chair with a confused look. He was about to say something else, but was, to Kagome's good fortune, interrupted. "Mr. Takahashi! Please open up your book and start studying! This is not your social hour!" Ms. Kagura yelled.

"Feh." InuYasha said with a shrug as he opened up his book and forgot about Kagome.

When the bell to end the period, and the day, rang, it was like a stampede. Everyone scurrying to their lockers, rushing to get home. Kagome slowly walked to her locker and put the combination in. Unlike everyone else, she wasn't in any hurry to go home. She knew what was probably awaiting her there, like every night. Punishment.

Kagome grabbed the books she needed and her purse then started down the hallway, only to be unexpectedly escorted by Sango and Miroku, who had just walked up beside her. "Hey." Miroku said.

"Hi." Kagome replied.

"So, how did study hall go? I hope you found the room alright." Sango asked with concern.

"Yeah, I found it. I had to follow some people though." Kagome replied as she pushed open the entrance doors.

"Well, that's good. I was worrying that I didn't give you enough instructions and I probably should taken you there myself." Sango said as they made their way down the steps.

"No, you would have been late if you did." Kagome said feeling slightly braver talking to them as she flashed them a smile, but the smile and all signs of happiness vanished from her face as she recognized her father pickup truck.

"What's wrong Kagome? You face suddenly went pale." Miroku asked as he followed her gaze to on old truck. "Who's that?"

"My dad. I've got to go. Bye." she said as she rushed over to the truck. "Bye Kagome! See you tomorrow!" Sango hollered to her as Kagome slammed the truck door shut.

He father pulled away and they rode in silence. Kagome was wishing that Sango hadn't said good-bye to her because it only added to her father's suspicion.

When they pulled into the driveway of their new house, that didn't look anywhere close to being new, her father roughly said, "Get out and get inside."

Kagome fumbled with the door handle, but managed to get out of the car. She raced up to the front door and flung it open before flying inside. Naraku just leisurely walked in.

Kagome was trying to figure out where her bedroom was when she felt a hand lay upon her shoulder. She flinched at the contact, but didn't dare try to move away. "Why were you late getting out of school? Do you have any idea how long I had to sit there and wait for you as hordes of kids walked out?" he asked as his grip on her arm tightened.

"I-I'm sorry! I had to go b-back to my l-locker to get my th-things." she stuttered hoping he would let go of her.

"Then why did you come out with those kids? Are they your friends?" he asked as he pinned her against the nearest wall.

"N-no! They we just being nice!" Kagome said, "You said I couldn't have any friends. I would never disobey you."

Naraku snarled at her. "Like killing your mother and brother is what I wanted!" he yelled as she threw her to the ground.

"Of course not! I didn't want them dead either." she cried.

"Then why did you kill them, you dirty piece of filth?" he shouted as he kicked continuously in the gut. "You don't deserve to live when your mother and bother are dead!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kill them!" Kagome whimpered, but her father just kicked her in the face to shut her up.

"Shut up, girl! I don't want to hear it!" he said as he bent down to pick her up and slap her across the face. "I wish you weren't my daughter! I hate you!"

That was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

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_Sorry about the long wait, but I'm still trying to finish_ **Stuck with you**_. I'm just about done with it. About three more chapters and it should be through. Then I can start working more on this one. Just thought an update was in need. Thanks for waiting._


	4. The Journey to School

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

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****Chapter Three**

Kagome woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. She brought her hand up and placed it on her forehead. She had to make it to the bathroom to see how much damage he did. She got up off the living room floor, where her father had left her the previous night, and managed to find the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and found her face covered with bruises then she took off her shirt and examined the rest of herself. She had a huge bruise on her stomach from where he kicked her and her right arm was just completely black and blue. Her left arm seemed to have escaped any real damage.

She opened up the bathroom cabinet, that was above the sink, and took out all the makeup she had. She dabbed the cover-up all over her face and added some blush to make it look more believable.

She sighed as she studied herself. She looked like a whore with all this makeup on, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She cautiously looked outside the bathroom door and checked to see if her father was anywhere in sight. She walked out and sighed with relief when she didn't see him, but when she heard his voice her body automatically went rigid.

"Where do you think you're going, girl?" he asked as he walked toward her. Kagome could feel tears building up behind her eyes at the thought at what he might do to her.

"I was going to go get ready for school." she replied fearfully as she carefully turned around to face him.

Naraku studied his daughter as she stared at the ground. He walked over to her and place a hand under her chin then lifted her gaze to him. "Why are you wearing that junk?"

How was she support to answer him? "Um, I . . . it's--"

"Are you trying to impress someone at school?" Naraku asked harshly. Kagome immediately shook her head.

"No Dad!"

"Because no one would be impressed by you!" he said as he shoved her onto her bottom then he proceeded down the hallway. Before he was out of sight he said, "You're walking to school today and don't expect me to pick your lazy ass up either."

Kagome whimpered as she stood up. She had tried so hard not to get a beating this morning, but it seemed that what ever she did nothing was good enough.

She found her room and noticed her duffel bag on her bed untouched. She unzipped it and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a baggy long sleeved shirt. She threw it on and went down stairs. She looked out the window and noticed that her father's pickup truck was gone.

She picked up her purse and school books then headed out the door. Kagome wasn't exactly sure where her school was, but she was determined to find it. She walked for about ten minutes before she realized that she was lost. Now she wished she had paid attention when her father had brought her yesterday.

She stopped to check her surroundings, hoping to find something that would strike her memory, but the only thing that was around her was houses that all had the same design. She had to admit that the look of things weren't good.

She started walking down the road a little farther when a black sports car drove up next to her. "Hey, Kagome, need a lift?" Miroku asked as he rolled down the tinted window. He leaned against the door and flashed her a smile.

Kagome was in awe. The car was so shinny and slick. She looked back at Miroku and nodded shyly. "Yes, please."

"Well then, hop in." he said as he unlocked the doors. "I was just on my way to pickup Sango."

Kagome got into the back of the car since she guessed Sango would want the front seat. She fastened her seatbelt as Miroku took off the street. "So Kagome, why were you walking to school today? Didn't your dad take you to school yesterday?" he asked innocently.

Kagome started to ring her hands out nervously. "Well, he had to be somewhere this morning." but of course she had no clue as to where that was.

"Oh, well then I guess you're happy that I came along, huh?" Miroku asked as he smirked through the rearview mirror at her.

Kagome nodded shyly in reply as she felt him turn the car into a driveway. She looked out the window and watched as Sango made her way toward the passenger side door.

"Miroku, I thought you said that you were going to be here on time today? I hardly think a half hour late is on time." Sango said as she got into the car.

"Sorry my love, but I had to pick up a stowaway." Miroku joked as he gestured toward the backseat.

Sango looked back and was surprised to Kagome sitting there, but she quickly recovered by smiling and saying, "Oh hey Kagome! I didn't know Miroku was picking you up. Not that it bothers me or anything." She looked over at Miroku and directed her last comment at him. "But that still doesn't explain why you were a half hour late."

Miroku cringed at her accusation, but quickly made up and excuse. "My alarm clock didn't go off!" he said, but by the look on her face she didn't buy it. He was going to add more, but luckily for him his cell phone rang.

Kagome watched as he flipped open his phone and causally said, "Hey Man! What's up?" Miroku looked over at Sango and smile. She just crossed her arms over her chest in a sulk. "Sure I can pick you up . . . no really, I'm sure you're girlfriend's got better things to do than give you a lift." he added sarcastically. "Of course I wasn't insulting her . . . Calm down. I'll be there in a minute." and with that he clicked his phone shut.

"Who was that?" Sango asked still a little angry with him. He continued to smile as he pulled out of her driveway.

"Seems like I've a carpool today." he said as he drove down the road, that Kagome didn't recognize, which wasn't surprising. "It seems our old friend InuYasha needs a lift today."

Kagome's eyes widened at his name. InuYasha? It couldn't be _that_ InuYasha, could it? The same one from study hall? What were the chances of that happening? "Wow, that doesn't happen very often. What happened to his car?" Sango asked converting from angry over to shock.

Mrioku's grin never left his face, probably because Sango had forgotten about him being late--for now. "He says it's in the shop and Kikyo's too busy to pick him up."

"How can his girlfriend be too busy to pick him up? I mean, she doesn't live that far from him. What five minutes down the road?" Sango asked as Miroku shrugged his shoulders in reply.

He looked into his rearview mirror and said, "I hope you don't mind if I pick up another friend?"

Kagome felt herself blush at his concern for her. "Why would it bother me? You're the one who's driving."

"Yeah, but he's going to have to sit back there with you," he replied with a smile. "and he can be, well, let's just say InuYasha can be a little intimidating when you first met him."

"I think I've already met him." Kagome said as the memory of them bumping into each other in the hall way entered her mind. "Does he have really long silver hair and, what I can only imagine to be, dog ears?"

Miroku chuckled as Sango answered her question. "Yup, that's him alright. When'd you meet him? I mean, the only time you could have met him was when you were in study hall, but I didn't know he had that seventh period." she replied in confusion.

"He switched classes so he could be with Kikyo." Miroku said as he winked at Sango. Kagome's face got hot again at the show of affection and she knew she shouldn't being feeling this, but she couldn't help but feel a wave a envy.

Kagome shook the thoughts out of her head. "Um . . . do you mind if I ask . . . _what_ is he?"

Sango and Miroku started laughing at her innocent question. Kagome looked down in at her lap in embarrassment. "Sorry, it's just that it's kind of obvious." Sango managed to say. "He's a demon . . . Well, a half-demon anyway."

Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion. "Demon? Half? You mean he's . . . wow."

Miroku caught onto her bewilderment. "Have you never see a demon before?" he asked a little surprised. "Cause that's kinda hard to believe because they're everywhere nowadays."

Kagome shook her head. "No, I've never seen one, I mean, I've heard of them, but they weren't allowed in our school or in our neighborhood. It's just a surprise." she replied.

Sango looked astonished. "I didn't know there were still places like that." she said as she shook her head.

"But you said he was a half-demon. Does that mean that he also half-human?" Kagome asked interested in hearing more.

Miroku nodded. "Yeah, his mother was a human and his father was a demon."

"Was? Are they dead?" Kagome asked her voice strung with sympathy. Sango nudged Miroku in the side causing the car to swerve a little, but he quickly recovered.

"I'm sorry Kagome, but that's really something you have to take up with InuYasha. It's something that's always been a soft spot for him." Sango said as she looked back at her and smiled.

"Ah ha, we're finally here." he said as he drove up to the gate. Kagome was in awe as she stared at the house--no mansion--that belonged to InuYasha. Miroku chuckled at her expression. "Yes I know. It's hard to believe that he doesn't have a private driver to take him to school, but InuYasha's the type that doesn't like to wave around his wealth."

Kagome nodded as the security guard walked up beside Miroku's car. "Hello Mr. Housi. Will Master InuYasha be riding with you today?" he asked as soon as Miroku's window was down.

Miroku suck his elbow out the window and leaned against it. "Sure will. So where is his Highness, Myouga?" he asked and Kagome could tell that Miroku went there often since he and the guard each others names.

"Just let me call the house and then he should be down." Myouga replied as he went back into his booth and picked up a phone.

"Well," Miroku sighed as he relaxed against the seat, "he should be down her in ten minutes, considering how slow he moves."

Kagome jumped when Sango suddenly reached over Miroku and held down the horn sending a loud echoing sound throughout the courtyard. "I don't have time to wait him. We're going to be late if he doesn't get out here now!" she said as she hit the horn again.

In the distance, Kagome could see a figure running super fast toward the car and in a matter of moments InuYasha was at the car's door. "See ya later, Myouga." he said his voice holding no sign of exhaustion. He opened the door and sat down. "Should have known that Sango was with you."

Sango turned around and glared at him. "You're lucky you're my boyfriend's best friend or you would be so dead." she said and it held so much venom in it that it sent shivers down Kagome's spine. "If we're late because of you and I get a detention then it won't matter who you're friends with."

Kagome looked over at InuYasha and saw him gulp, but his comment showed no trace of fear. "Yeah, well, it's not like you've never had a detention before."

Thankfully Miroku cut in as Sango was ready to climb over the seat and tackle InuYasha. "Let's just get there, safely, okay?"

"Feh." he said as he looked in a different direction and noticed Kagome sitting next to him. "Who are you?"

Kagome looked back down at her lap feeling herself blush. "This is Kagome Higurashi. She's new and according to her you're in her study hall." Miroku answered for her.

InuYasha arched an eyebrow at her. "Really? Let's see . . . Higurashi . . . oh! I remember you! You're the klutz that ran into me in the hallway!" he announced making Kagome's blush deepen.

"InuYasha! Don't insult her!" Sango flamed as she sent daggers his way.

InuYasha just shrugged it off as he looked back at Kagome. "Don't you sit next to me too?"

Kagome nodded as she looked up at him, with courage she didn't know she had, and was once again caught up in his eyes. She didn't know what to say, but was saved by Sango.

"Stop interrogating her!" she yelled as he rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't interrogating her. I just asked if she sat next to me in class. Gez Sango, take a chill pill." InuYasha replied as he placed his hands behind his head.

To Kagome's great relief, Miroku pulled into the school parking lot and parked the car close enough to the school's front doors.

Kagome watched as Sango, Miroku, and InuYasha walked toward the school. Why was she with them? She wasn't supposed to make friends. Yet this group had welcomed her in with no questions asked. She didn't know what she'd do if her father ever found out. A part of her told her that she had to get out and get away from them, but . . . a bigger part of her wanted to stay with them.

"Come on Kagome! Or we're going to be late!" Sango hollered and Kagome willingly followed her.

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_Hey, I'm back! I just had an urge to update this one! Hope you liked it! Please review!_


	5. Getting Some Answers

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

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Chapter Four **

Kagome's day was flying by and before she knew it, it was already lunch time. Kagome reached out a delicate hand to grab the apple that was in the ice-filled container and then a carton of white milk. She wasn't very hungry and even if she was the cafeteria food didn't look all that appetizing anyway.

She walked up to the cashier and showered her what she had. The cashier rang up her total and said, "That'll be a dollar and thirty cents."

Kagome froze when she realized she didn't have any money. "Oh." was all she could say. "Well . . . um . . ."

"Do have the money, sweetheart?" the cashier asked as Kagome looked down at her items, then she shook her head. The cashier sighed as she told her to give her food to the cafeteria lady so she could dispose of it.

Kagome started to turn around when someone stopped her. "Wait a minute Kagome." a male's voice said and Kagome was startled to find InuYasha standing behind her carrying his own lunch. She watched as he walked in front of her and told the cashier, "Add her total to mine."

Kagome looked at InuYasha in confusion, but quickly caught onto what he was doing. "No InuYasha, you don't have to buy my lunch. It's fine really." she said, but her words had no effect on him because he continued to pay for both lunches.

When he was done he walked passed and said, "Well come on. Miroku and Sango saved us a seat." and then he proceeded on his way over to Sango and Miroku.

Kagome following himin a state of bewilderment. He didn't sit with them yesterday, so why was he sitting with them today? She shrugged the thought out of her head as she walked up to the booth.

Miroku and Sango were sitting opposite each other, so Kagome slid in next to Sango while InuYasha dragged a lone table to the end of the booth, making it suitable for more people to sit at.

Kagome didn't get why they had to make the booth bigger when he could have sat next to Miroku, but she soon understood when Kikyo joined them.

"InuYasha! There you are! I was looking everywhere for you!" she said in a joyful voice as she sat down next to InuYasha.

Kagome heard Sango sign in annoyance. "Well maybe you should have looked harder because he was right in front of you." she said coldly. Kagome looked from her to InuYasha and Kikyo. Was there something going on between them?

Kikyo and InuYasha seemed have ignored the comment because InuYasha replied, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left your side so soon. I just thought you knew where we were sitting today."

Kikyo smiled as she kissed him on the check. "That's okay. I just wasn't sure if we were going to sit here or not." she said as she pulled away and looked at the rest of the table's inhabitants. She knew who Miroku and Sango were, but the other girl didn't look familiar. "Is she you're new friend?"

"Yeah and you better be nice to her. Got that?" Sango asked with determination.

Miroku reached over and put his hand on top of hers. "Calm dawn Sango. I'm sure Kikyo didn't have any intension in mistreating Kagome." he said as he gently rubbed the back of her hand. The gesture seemed to calm her down a little.

InuYasha closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as if trying to fight off a headache. "Kikyo! Come over here for a minute!" a tall red head called across the room as she waved for Kikyo come over.

Kikyo stood up. "Be right there!" she called, "Excuse me." and with that she walked over to her friends' table.

"Glad she's gone." Sango commented as she crossed her arms over her chest.

InuYasha was in between angry and disbelief. "See, that is why I never get to sit with you guys anymore. You always have to run Kikyo off." he said, directing most of it toward Sango.

"We didn't run her anywhere. If I recall, her friend called her over there." Sango replied not even looking at InuYasha.

"Well, if she hadn't I know she would have left just as soon." InuYasha said as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

Kagome sat in silence as she watched them wearily. Then Miroku stood up and asked, "Are you down with your trash, Sango? I'm heading to the trashcans. You might as well let me take it up."

Sango smiled. "Of course you may." she said and as he went to grab it Sango pulled on his arm tugging his face towards hers. The action however, made Miroku loose his balance for a moment and accidentally fall against Kagome's right arm.

If her arm hadn't been injured it probably wouldn't have hurt, but considering that it was it made jolts of pain shoot up and down her arm. She had to bite her bottom lip just to make sure she wouldn't cry out.

"Now Sango you know what happens when we start this," he said with a grin as he pulled out of their kiss, "and look, you almost made me spill milk all over Kagome."

Sango looked over at Kagome as she tried to suppress the laughter, that so desperately wanted to slip out, in. "Sorry Kagome." Kagome nodded in reply since she didn't trust her voice. "Um, could you excuse me I, uh, think I'm going to help Miroku with the trash."

Kagome slowly slipped out of the booth so Sango could get out then she very carefully slid back in. She looked over at InuYasha, who was busy eating, to make sure that he wasn't looking as she lifted up her sleeve to check her bruises.

Apparently she didn't watch InuYasha too carefully because as he was taking another bite of his sandwich he glance over at her and then did a double take at the sight of her arm. He watched as Kagome tried to calm her irritated flesh moaning and wincing quietly every time she touched it.

"Holy hell. What happened to your arm?" he asked as he leaned over to get a better look at it.

Kagome froze when he asked. She racked her brain trying to come up with an excuse. "Um . . . I uh . . . fell down the stairs." she answered hoping that he'd believe her.

InuYasha looked from her arm up to her face. She smiled guiltily at him causing him to shake his head. "You really are a klutz, aren't you?" he asked in a teasing way.

Kagome shrugged as Kikyo's voice came from the other side of the cafeteria. "InuYasha! Come over here please!"

InuYasha sighed as he got up. "Sorry to leave you here all alone, but I'm wanted over there." he said as started walking toward Kikyo's table.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief. That was so close. Too close. What would she have done if he found out? What would her father do if anyone fond out? When Sango and Miroku slid onto thebench across from her she was jerked her from her thoughts.

"Hey where'd InuYasha go?" Miroku asked as he put his arm around Sango's shoulders.

"Kikyo wanted him over there." Kagome replied as she gestured over to Kikyo's table.

Sango rolled her eyes. "It's always about Kikyo." she complained. "I don't know what he sees in her."

"Come on Sango, she's really not that bad once you get to know her." Miroku assured her as patted her shoulder.

"I don't want to get to know her." Sango said in an provoked voice. "After what she did to me I don't evenwant to look at her."

Kagome was confused now and before she could stop herself she asked, "What'd she do to you?"

"Well you see Kagome, Sango is the type to hold a grudge," he said and before Sango could protest he added. "and don't you even deny it because you know it's true."

"Humph." Sango pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"It took her three years for her to forgive me for, um, "invading her personal space"." Miroku said knowledgeably.

"He groped me!" Sango cut in as she playfully slapped him on the shoulder and Kagome couldn't help but giggle at them.

"Yes well, anyway, I was proving a point." he said as he cleared his throat. "Back in junior high Kikyo and Sango got into a little cat fight."

Sango rolled her eyes. "She deserved what she got. Not that it was too terrible. All I did was pull some of her hair out, but still." she said angrily. "I was the new girl back then and Kikyo was assigned to show me around the school and make sure I got my classes on time. I had actually thought I had made a new friend and she even invited me to sit at her lunch table. A couple of weeks later she began to spread rumors about me, saying that I liked girls more than boys and that the only reason I hung out with her was because I had a lesbian crush on her.

I wasn't really affected by the rumor. It was wereit came from that hurt the most. I mean, she was supposed to be my friend. I still haven't forgiven her." she concluded.

"And that's when she met me and InuYasha." Miroku said as he pulled her closer to him. "Of course we had heard the rumors, but we knew better than to believe them."

"But you want to know what really ticks me off?" Sango asked lividly. "What ticks me off the most is that he's actually dating her! He use to dislike her just as much as I did because of what she did to me, but now it's like he's forgotten all about that."

"Yes well, InuYasha has learned to forgive her. Something I think you should learn to do." Miroku told her. "Kikyo is InuYasha's girlfriend and there's nothing you can do about it so why not except it?"

Sango was instantly sent into a sulk. "I won't forgive her!" she said as she roughly looked in the other direction.

Miroku sighed. "Come on Sango. Is this grudge really worth losing a friend over?" he asked trying to get her to look at him, but to no avail.

Kagome didn't know how she could make the situation any better, but she wouldn't let Miroku and Sango fight because she wanted to know what happened. "Sango, what happened a long time ago doesn't have to effect your friendship with InuYasha. Believe me when I say that you don't want to loose any of your friends." she said causing Sango to look at her with sad eyes. "Being alone isn't all what it's cracked up to be."

Sango considered Kagome's words and in the end sighed. "You're right Kagome. My friendship with InuYasha has nothing to do with Kikyo, but it doesn't mean I have to forgive her. I just have to tolerate her." she replied with a determined grin.

Miroku shook his head disappointedly, but didn't object his opinion. Instead he rolled his eyes at Kagome silently asking if she could believe what she was seeing, but when he grinned she knew he was just teasing. Kagome just shrugged her shoulders as the bell to end lunch was heard throughout the lunch room.

The rest of the day was a blur to Kagome. All the class periods she had seemed to mold into one long class. As she walked out of the front doors with Miroku, Sango, InuYasha, and Kikyo, Kagome could tell that Sango was trying her hardest not to insult her.

"So Kagome, do you need a ride home?" Miroku asked as they approached his car.

Kagome thought about his question. What if her father was home and he saw her get out of his car? What would he do? But it wasn't as if she could walk home because she knew from the last car trip that it would be a long walk. "Um . . . I don't know if I should." Kagome replied.

"Oh come on Kagome. It's not too far and besides it doesn't look like your dad's coming to pick you up today." Sango said as she quickly got into the passenger seat.

Kagome sighed. "Alright sure, why not?" she asked herself although her better judgment was telling her not to. She got in the back and bulked up as she heard Miroku ask InuYasha if he was riding with them.

"Nah, Kikyo said she'd give me a lift home. Thanks anyway." she heard him reply as Miroku got into the car. He looked at Sango then back at Kagome. "Well, are we ready?" he asked as he started up the car.

"Yes, let's get out of here." Sango replied and with that Miroku pulled out of the school parking lot. "I'm so glad it's the weekend." Sango exclaimed as she stretched her arms out over her head.

"So am I." Miroku replied. "No homework for a couple of days. Just hanging out and relaxing--which reminds me." he said as he looked into his review mirror and asked, "So Kagome, are you doing anything this weekend because we usually hangout at the mall and see a movie on Saturdays?"

Kagome, who had not been sharing their excitement over the weekend, looked up with a start. "What?You're inviting me?" she asked shocked.

Sango looked back at her. "Of course we are that is if you're not too busy." she said with a smile.

"Um . . ." Kagome began. How could she possibly get her father to agree to let her go without getting punished? "I'll have to think about it." she replied not wanting to sound rude, but also not wanting to get their hopes up.

Sango's smile faded. "Oh well okay. Just make sure to call me when you decide you want to go because I know you'd have a blast." she said as she turned around.

With little else to say the rest of the ride to her house was silent except for the occasional conversation Miroku would strike up. When they finally pulled into Kagome's driveway, Kagome was relieved to find her father's car missing.

As Kagome climbed out of the car she said good-bye and then shut the door. As they pulled out she waved until they were out of sight.

Kagome sighed as she walked toward the house and then opened the door with the spar key, that was under the doormat. As she walked in, she decided she should start on dinner assuming it would be one less punishment she would get that night.

Kagome had just finished frying the fish she was cooking for dinner when she heard her father slam through the front door. Kagome scurried to put his fish on his plate with he walked into the kitchen.

Immediately Kagome knew he was drunk by the way his eyes were bloodshot and by the way he was swaying. Kagome stepped away from his plate as he sat down and looked at it.

"What the hell is this?" he snarled as he stabbed his fork into it and held it up in front of her.

Kagome gulped. "Um, your dinner." she replied nervously.

Naraku sniffed it and then made a disgusted face as he threw it across the room. "I don't like my dinner cold!" he yelled and Kagome drew back in fear.

"But Dad I just made it. How can it be cold?" she asked and she suddenly regretted asking as his eyes lit up with fury.

He stood up and wobbled over to her. "You insolent little wench! How dare you question my judgment! When I say my dinner's cold I mean it's cold! No questions asked!" he yelled as he lifted her up by the hair.

Kagome suddenly had tears streaming down her face as he painfully brought her up to his eye level. She was so close she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Sorry. I promise I'll never question you again." she whimpered.

With a repulsed look on his face he carried her to the bathroom and threw her inside. "You reek!" he hollered as he made his way over to the bathtub. He only turned the hot water on and Kagome could only watch in tears as the bathtub slowly filled with steaming hot water. When it was full he told her to get in, but when Kagome hesitated she felt his fist hit the side of her head.

He walked over to the door and then said, "You are staying in here until you take a bath. You understand that girl?" he asked as he shut the door and locked it from the outside.

Kagome ran up to the door and cried, "But how will you know when I'm done?"

"Believe me, I'll know." was all he said as she heard him walk away.

Kagome looked over at the tub slowly. It was filled to the top so there was no way to add some cold water and if she tried to empty it Naraku was sure to hear. She sighed as she slowly stripped and enter the scolding hot water. She winced when it engulfa fewopen cuts.

When her whole body up to her shoulders was submerged in the hot liquid, Kagome closed her eyes trying to picture herself somewhere else. She sat there for a minute or two pretending to be swimming in a lake, but with the welcoming thought and the soothing steam of the water drifting over her face she slowly fell asleep.

_A nine year old Kagome was riding in the back seat of her mother's old car as they were on their way home from a late girl scout meeting. Next to her was her little brother, Sota, playing quietly with his favorite teddy bear, that belonged their mom when she was little. _

_Her mother was having trouble keeping the car running as she told herself the engine needed replacing. They drove on for a couple of miles before the car completely died. Her mothered sighed as she looked back at them._

_She was about to tell them something when flashing red lights and signals started going off . It was then that her mother realized that the car had died in the middle of a railroad crossing. Panicky her mother told Kagome to get out of the car. Kagome hurriedly climbed out of the car and ran across the road to safety as her mother went around the car to the side where Sota was._

_Kagome watched as her mother ran over to her and sighed with relief that they had made it, whenSota suddenlystarting wailing. She looked down at her son in her arms and realized that she had forgotten his teddy bear. She looked up to make sure the train was far enough awaybefore handing Sota over to Kagome. "Hold him. I'll be right back." she told her as she sprinted over to the abandoned car._

_Kagome was nervous as she watched for the train, but Sota was wiggling so much in her arms that she put him down on the ground. Kagome awaited anxiously for their mother to return, but in her obviousness Sota made his way back toward the car in search of his bear._

_Their motherjogged her way back over to where Kagome was and looked around for Sota. "Where's Sota?" she asked and Kagome looked down at where she put him only to discover that he was no longer there. They began searching for him and that's when her mother spotted him back in the car._

"_Sota!" she cried as she ran toward the car "Stay there Kagome!" she called back to her. Kagome looked down the railroad to see the train picking up speed heading straight toward them. And that when it happened. The train slammed into the car with her mother and baby brother inside._

_Kagome gazed over the spot after the train went by. "Mom!" she cried out and she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe._

No. She really couldn't breathe! Kagome's eyes fluttered opened to find that she had slipped under the water's surface in her sleep.

She looked around the room, not knowing what the time was, as she climbed out of the tub. Tears were spilling out of her eyes as she recalled the dream she had. The memory of when her mother and brother died.

She cautiously put her clothes back on and then drained the tub, hoping that her father had fallen asleep.

She walked over to the door and quietly jiggled the handle. To her misfortune it was still locked. Kagome looked around the small bathroom. As she sighed in defeat, she curled up on the ground and fell into a dreamless slumber.

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_Okay, this is one of the longest chapters I've ever written, but it had so much in it! I hope you like it! It was interesting to write. Please review!_


	6. A Hard Day

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

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Chapter Five **

If felt like Kagome had just closed her eyes when she heard her father banging on the bathroom door. She didn't think she could bare a beating this early in the morning, so she jumped up right when he opened the door.

Naraku walked over to his daughter and grabbed her upper arm and dragged her out of the bathroom then into the kitchen. He roughly let go of her and glared at her. "Do you see this mess you made last night! I want this house spotless!" he yelled as Kagome quickly got busy. "I'm having very important people coming over tonight and I want this house sparkling!"

Kagome rushed around the kitchen cleaning all the utensils she used last night for dinner. When the dishes were clean and put away she went to clean up the fish he had thrown across the room. By the time the she got around to doing the whole house it was already late in the afternoon.

Kagome plopped down onto the couch in exhaustion. Naraku walked up to her with a hard look on his face. "You're not allowed to be here tonight." he stated.

Kagome looked up at him in confusion. "Where do you want me to go?" she asked timidly.

Naraku slapped her across the face. "I don't care! As long as you're no where near this house I don't care where you go!" he yelled as he walked into the kitchen.

Kagome let out a jagged breath. Now what was she supposed to do? As if on cue the phone started ringing. "Girl, you better stop the infuriating sound!"

She jumped off the couch and ran towards the phone, then quickly picked it up. "He-hello?" she asked as she intertwined her fingers in the phone cord.

"Hey Kagome, are you going to come to the mall with us before we go to the movies?" Kagome heard Sango's voice on the other end of the phone and her blood ran cold. What if her father had answered the phone? She would have been beaten to death.

"Ho-how did you get my number?" Kagome asked quietly not meaning to sound rude, but she was just concerned about her father finding out about her "friends".

Kagome heard Sango snort on the other end. "That's easy. Miroku hacked into the school's computer and looked up your information." she said as if there was nothing wrong with that.

"Couldn't you get in trouble for doing that?"

Sango paused for a moment. "If anyone found out, but there's no way they ever will." Sango replied confidently. "So, are you coming? Do you need a lift?"

Kagome looked toward the kitchen and spotted her father cursing at the newspaper article he was reading. She found it odd that he wasn't drinking and what was even stranger was that there were people coming over later. He never had people come over, but Kagome wasn't going to question his judgment. Not again. "Um . . . yeah sure, but could you pick me up at the neighborhood playground?" Kagome asked. She knew full well that if her father found out about this he would be furious. Kagome couldn't remember the last time she did something without his permission. It sent a chills down her spine.

"Why do you want us to pick you up at the playground? I mean, that sounds kinda weird. Why not at your house?" Sango asked.

Kagome sighed. "My dad is having people over and I want to get out of the house. The sooner the better." Kagome replied. She wasn't lying. She needed to get out of the house as soon as possible.

"Oh. Alright. Miroku will pick you up there then. I'm going to be running late. My dad wanted to tell me something important before I went out. So, he'll pick you up first." she explained.

"Okay." was all Kagome could say.

There was an awkward silence before Sango said, "Well, I guess I'll see you later then."

"Kay, um bye." Kagome said as she hung up the phone. She looked toward the kitchen to see if her father was becoming suspicious of her being on the phone so long, but he was still reading his newspaper.

Kagome was about to sigh in relief when he ordered her into the kitchen. She immediately went to him. He looked at her with disgust. "You are to be nowhere around this house tonight, girl. I don't care where you go. You could go sit underneath a bridge for all I care just don't come back until well after ten o'clock. Got it?" he asked and she nodded in response.

Naraku looked back down at his paper and said, "You have ten minutes."

Kagome looked at him in confusion. "Ten minutes for what?"

She was expecting him to lash out at her, but he continued to read the paper. "To get out of the house." he said calmly and it scared Kagome more than it did when it was fierce. She scurried toward her bedroom and put on a different set of clothes then ran to the bathroom and applied her daily amount of makeup before grabbing her purse and rushing out the door. She walked down the sidewalk until she came across the playground she told Sango she'd meet Miroku.

She sat on the jungle gym for about five minutes before see recognized Miroku's black sports car pull up. He honked his horn to get her attention as if he didn't already have it and she ran over to him.

"Hey." he said as he rolled down the passenger side window. "You ready to have a good time?"

Kagome stared at him for a minute. She couldn't remember the last time she just went out to have fun. It had to have beenyears. "Kagome? Hey Kagome, are you okay?"

Kagome shook herself out of her thoughts and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go get Sango." she said as she attempted to get in the back.

"You know you could ride in the front with me. I don't bite." Miroku said and Kagome's face flushed.

"I know I just thought Sango might want to ride in front with you." she replied as she scuffed her shoes on the sidewalk.

Miroku chucked. "Well you could always get in the back when we get to Sango's, but if you'd rather sit in the back that's fine. I'll just sit up here. All by myself." Miroku said as he laid on the guilt trip.

Kagome sighed with a smile as she opened up the passenger seat and got in. "We wouldn't want that now would we?" she asked as Miroku chucked some more.

"Well you certainly become more open since we've became friends." he said as he pulled out onto the street. "Did you have a quiet side around your old friends or is this something you picked up recently?"

Kagome didn't answer right away. "I . . . I didn't have any friends at my old school." she replied. "As for the quiet side, I've always been that way."

Miroku looked at her sadly. "You didn't have any friends? That seems very unlikely for someone as nice and pretty as you." Miroku said with a smile and Kagome couldn't help, but look away with a blush spread across her face. Miroku looked back toward the road when his cell phone started ringing. He smoothly answered with a, "Hello my lovely Sango."

Kagome watched his smile fall to a frown. "What a minute Sango, calm down! You're rambling . . . you're father? . . . Yes I knew they were close . . . yes I also knew you had a problem with it. Sango if your father loves her . . . maybe he should have ran it past you first but . . . Just take a deep breath. We'll talk about this when we get to the mall, okay? . . . Alright, talk to you in a sec." Miroku concluded as he hung up and sighed.

Kagome watched him intently before asking, "Is Sango alright?" Miroku sighed again.

"It has to do with her father. You see a couple of years ago Sango's mother died of breast cancer." Miroku explained as Kagome's eye's widened. She had no idea. "It was last year that her father met Itsuka, his girlfriend, and Sango's never been too fond of her. Well, apparently her father told her that Itsuka and him are getting married."

Just as Miroku finished explaining, he pulled into Sango's driveway where Sango was already waiting for them. She hurriedly opened the backseat door and hopped in before Kagome could change seats with her. "Drive." was all she said and Miroku not wanting to make his girlfriend anymore upset pulled out of the driveway.

The ride to the mall was in silence. No one knew what to say as Sango glared out the car window. When they finally got to the mall, InuYasha and Kikyo were already there. "Great, just what I need." Sango muttered to herself as she got out of the car.

InuYasha walked over to greet them, but Kikyo stayed at the bench she was sitting on as she finished putting on her makeup. "Hey guys, what's up?" he asked as he noticed Sango's mood. "What's with her?"

"Shove it InuYasha." she said as she pushed past him and walked over to one of the public picnic tables and sat down.

InuYasha just stared after her for a moment before looking back at Kagome and Miroku. "Someone going to fill me in?"

Miroku sighed. "Her father's marrying Itsuka." was all Miroku had to say as InuYasha groaned.

"No wonder she's pissed off." InuYasha replied. "Bet that conversation didn't go over too well."

"I was just going to ask her how it went." Miroku said as he walked over to Sango with InuYasha and Kagome following.

Miroku sat down opposite of her as InuYasha sat down next to him and Kagome next to Sango. She didn't look up at him, instead she just glared at the table. He took her hands in his causing her to look up at him. "This isn't the end of the world you know? You still have us and it's not like your father's going to stop loving you and Kohaku." Miroku said then adding, "Her brother." to Kagome.

"I don't want him marrying anyone else." Sango said as she tried to keep her tears back.

"I know you don't," Miroku whispered to her, "but your father loves her and Kohaku seems to have no problem with this. As far as I know, he never had a problem with Itsuka. Why does it bother you?"

"Because," she choked out, "she's trying to take my mother's place."

"Oh come on Sango. You know that's not true." InuYasha said causing Sango to glare at him.

Kagome watched silently. She knew how Sango felt. Well, not about the marriage thing, but about her missing her mother. Kagome still woke up in tears in the middle of the night crying out for her mother. Kagome slowly put an arm around Sango's trembling shoulders. Sango looked up at her with confusion. "I know how you feel Sango. I lost my mother when I was nine. She . . . She died in a car accident." Kagome said as the memory of the dreadful night flashed through her mind. "I wish my father would try to remarry. Although, I don't see that happening anytime soon. You're lucky."

"I'm so sorry Kagome. I didn't know you lost your mother too." Sango said as she threw herself against Kagome's bruised shoulder causing her to wince a little. Sango sobbed against Kagome for awhile before Kikyo got annoyed of sitting alone while her boyfriend sat with his friends and walked over.

"InuYasha why don't we go shopping for a bit?" she asked as InuYasha gazed at Kagome and Sango.

"Not right now Kikyo." InuYasha replied. "Sango's having a bad day."

Kikyo let out an irritated sigh. "You know, I'm tried of hearing about Sango and Miroku and even that new girl. I'm your girlfriend. I need some attention too!" Kikyo said loudly.

InuYasha looked up at her crossly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kikyo flipped her hair. "Isn't that obvious. It's either me or them. Make your choice."

Sango had had enough. She stood up and glared at Kikyo. "You listen here! How dare you make InuYasha choose between you and his friends! Then accuse him of not spending enough time with you when we all know he spends to much time with you! You're just a control freak!" Sango shouted them took off into the mall. Miroku glared at Kikyo as he followed her inside.

Kagome sat there with InuYasha, who staring at Kikyo with disbelief. "Can you believe them?" she said as she sat down next to him then looked at Kagome. "Well, what are you waiting for? Leave."

Kagome was about to get up when InuYasha stopped her. "No, stay where you are Kagome." he said as he kept his gaze on Kikyo. "Sango was right. You are a control freak. You're trying to rip my friends out of my life. If that's the way you want it then I don't think this is going to work out."

Kikyo looked at him with incredulity. "What? You're dumping me?" she asked and when he didn't say anything she turned around and walked off swearing the whole way.

InuYasha sighed as he turned toward Kagome. "Well, I think we should go find Miroku and Sango." he said as she nodded and they walked into the mall together.

* * *

_Sorry about the long wait! I had to update my other story and then I had to finish this chapter! Anyway, I hoped you liked it! It's going to get interesting very soon! Please review to tell me what you think!_


	7. New and Old Experiences

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

**

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Chapter Six**

Kagome found herself growing self-conscience as she walked down the one of the mall's hallways. She didn't want to feel this way, but InuYasha was walking so casually with his hands in his pockets that she couldn't help but feel out of place. Not to mention he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother." he said making her jump a little.

Kagome looked at him confused. "What?"

He paused before he said, "You told Sango your mother died in a car accident. I'm sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to loose a family member due to an accident. My mother and father were died in a plane crash." He looked over at Kagome and smiled. "It's weird because Miroku's still the only one who has both his parents."

Kagome looked away from him. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust InuYasha and before she knew it she was telling him about the night her mother died, along with her brother, but leaving out the part where she screwed up. She didn't want him telling her a piece of filth too.

InuYasha gazed at her sadly. "What a terrible thing to see. To watch you mother and brother die. Your father must be very grateful to still have you." he replied.

Kagome whipped some of her tears off her face. "Yeah." she lied as she gazed over the many shops they passed. She suddenly felt someone take her by the hand and she gasped when she saw InuYasha looking at her with concern. She stopped as she tried to figure out what had gotten into him when he said, "You know you can always tell me anything. I know we haven't known each other that long, but I want you to know that I'm here for you."

Kagome blushed more than she ever had before. "Thanks InuYasha."

"You sure you're alright?"

Kagome smiled as she brushed the rest of her tears away with her free hand. "Yep. Besides it happened a long time ago." she replied.

They stood there staring at each other until someone cleared their throat to get there attention. InuYasha looked up to find Miroku and Sango standing in front of them smiling.

InuYasha's cheeks heated up a little as he pulled his hand away from Kagome's. "Where've you guys been? We've been looking for you."

Miroku's grin stayed on his face when he said, "Are you sure? Because as far as I can see, you two are too busy looking at each other rather than looking for us."

The comment make both InuYasha and Kagome blush more. "Come on Miroku, I'm sure it's not like that. They probably were looking for us . . . before they found each other more interesting." Sango replied as she giggled at InuYasha's expression.

"You've been with the lecher for too long." was all InuYasha could say.

Sango smiled as she walked over to them, but her smile slowly turned into a frown when she didn't hear the annoying voice of InuYasha's girlfriend. "Hey InuYasha, where's Kikyo?"

"I broke up with her." he stated and Sango looked at him with disbelief. "What? I didn't like the way she wanted to rip you guys out of my life."

Miroku walked over to join them and then placed a hand on InuYasha's shoulder. "Well, I have to say that you get over old girlfriends particularly fast." he said as he glanced over at Kagome. "But I must say that your taste is right on the dot."

InuYasha shrugged Miroku's hand off his shoulder as he crossed her arms over his chest. "You're out of your mind. Kagome and I are just friends." he replied.

"Ah for now my friend, but sooner or later . . ." Miroku trailed hoping InuYasha would get his drift, but all he did was roll his eyes.

Kagome and Sango watched the scene before them a for a minute before Sango said, "Well, I think we should give them some privacy huh? How about we go shopping before the movie?"

Kagome nodded as Sango pulled her into one of the closest stores. "Sango, are you sure you're okay to be shopping?" Kagome asked as Sango started going through racks of clothing.

"Are you kidding? Shopping is what I do to recover from depression. It calms me!" Sango exclaimed as she pulled out a red tank top. "Hmmm, reds not really my color, but I think it would look gorgeous on you, Kagome!"

Kagome stared at her questionably. "I don't think--"

"Nonsense!" Sango said as she shoved the tank top into her arms. "Now go try it on!" and with that Sango pushed her into a dressing room and shut the door.

Kagome stared down at the tank top in her arms. She couldn't wear this. She had too many bruises to walk around sleeveless, but what could she do? It wasn't as if she could just walk out and tell Sango she wouldn't try it on, right? That would not only make her look rude, but mean as well. Plus, Sango was already depressed as it was . . . but Kagome couldn't go out there with her arms black and blue.

Then a thought struck her. What if she snuck out and grabbed a long sleeved shirt? That way Sango wouldn't think she was being selfish and no one would find out about her bruises. Kagome smiled to herself for coming up with such a perfect plan.

The only difficult part was sneaking out.

Kagome knelt down and looked through the gap between the door and the floor. She noticed Sango's tennis shoes near the other side of the shop. Kagome stood up and slowly opened the door. Silently praying Sango wouldn't turn around and catch her.

When the cost was clear she quietly tiptoed over to a table loaded down with long sleeved shirts. She grabbed a white one and then rushed back into the stall. She sighed in relief as she looked down at the shirt she had grabbed. It wasn't as loose fitting like she normally wore, but it would have to do.

She slipped off her shirt she noticed that the bruise on her stomach was starting to go away. She couldn't remember the last time her stomach didn't have a bruise on it. Now that the bruise was healing, her stomach looked weird.

As she was putting on the long sleeved shirt, Sango knocked on the door. "Hey Kagome, everything going okay in there? Did I get the right size?" she asked.

"Um, yeah. It's the right size. I'll, uh, be out in a minute." Kagome replied as she put the red tank top over the other shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror with shock. She had never worn anything that showed off her body before. Her father would call her a slut for wearing anything that.

When Kagome was done gawking at herself, she nervously opened the door. She heard Sango gasp as she gazed at her. "That looks great on you! You should wear stuff like this more often! You would have all the guys lining up for you . . . but wear did that white shirt come from?" she asked as she noticed Kagome's undershirt.

Kagome looked down at her shirt and then back at Sango, silently panicking. "Oh, uh, this? I, uh, found it in there and I . . . thought it would look better than . . . just the tank top." Kagome replied.

Sango seemed to consider this. "Well, I guess it does look a little better." she finally said causing Kagome to sigh inwardly. "You have to get it."

Kagome's eyes widened. "But I don't have any money!" Kagome said as Sango smiled.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'll pay for it, but first we have to find you a pair of jeans to go with it." Sango said as she walked over to the jeans pile and moments later came back with a pair. "I think these will fit you."

Kagome excepted the jeans from Sango then went back into the dressing room. She slide off her sweatpants and then looked at the jeans. They look a lot less roomy, but she didn't want Sango to suspect anything so she attempted to put them on.

The jeans clung to her legs causing her to remember all the bruises on them. She had them half way on when they put pressure on an fairly new cut. She wince in pain and had to bite down on her lip to keep from crying out. When the pain faded, she pulled the jeans the rest of the way up then buttoning them up. At first they felt like they were suffocating her legs, but all the girls wear them so she supposed they took some getting use to.

Kagome stepped out of the stall to find Sango grinning. "Okay I am so buying this outfit for you and you're going to wear it when we go to the movies." she said joyfully.

"No really you don't have to buy me this." Kagome tried to say, but Sango brushed her off.

"Come on, the check out line isn't that long." Sango said, "Go get your old clothes, but keep those on. You can wear them out of the store if you pay for them."

Kagome rushed back into the stall and picked up her clothes then went back over to Sango to find that she was just finishing up paying for her new outfit. "Well let's go. The guys are probably ready to go the movies."

Kagome nodded as she followed Sango out of the shop when she suddenly stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she said as she went over to Kagome and started tearing off price tags off Kagome's shirt and stripping off stickers on her jeans. "There you go. Don't want you walking around here looking like a thief or something."

Kagome smiled. "Thanks." and then she noticed the boys standing not too far away from them and was it her imagination or were they staring at her?

Sango smiled as she pulled Kagome toward them. "Hey guys. You ready to go or what?"

Miroku continued to stare at Kagome with his mouth wide open. "Do my eyes deceive me or is that Kagome, who's always in sweats?" he asked astonished.

Sango just rolled her eyes at him. "Of course it's Kagome." she replied as Miroku snapped out of his gaze. Sango noticed InuYasha still hadn't said anything and was still staring at Kagome intently. "Hello? Anyone home?"

InuYasha realized he was still staring and looked away with a slight blush on his face. "Feh, let's go already." he said as he started walking toward the mall's exit.

Sango looked over at Kagome, who was slightly embarrassed for wearing such tight clothing out in public, started to giggled at InuYasha's reaction. She was a woman with a calling now. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she was determined to make **Mission: InuYasha/Kagome** a foolproof one.

"Well, we better be heading that way if we want to get good seats." Sango said as she dragged Kagome and Miroku toward the exit.

The movies wasn't that crowded for a Saturday night, so the gang decided to watch Lady in the Water. It was alright, but the ending was kind of a let down. It was in silence and during that silence Miroku and InuYasha couldn't stop laughing causing Sango to shake her head in embarrassment.

By the time it was the moving was over it was half after nine. Sango let out a yawn as she stretched her arms over her head. "Well, I think we should be heading home then." she said as she grabbed Miroku's arms and laid her head on his shoulder. "Even though I don't want to."

"You'll be fine." Miroku said comfortingly. "Why don't you try to become friends with Itsuka? I'm sure if you gave her a chance, you'd hit it off right away."

Sango shrugged her shoulders. "It's too late to be thinking about becoming friends with her right now. I just want to go home and go to sleep. Today's been a long day."

"Alright. I'll take you home." he said as he looked over at Kagome. "You coming?"

Sango immediately snapped her head up. "Why don't InuYasha take her home?" Sango suggest. "Not that I don't want her to come with us . . ."

Miroku was about to say something when InuYasha spoke up. "That's fine with me. You probably want to get home anyway and she can tell me the directions to her house." he said. "If that's alright with you Kagome?"

Kagome looked over at InuYasha. "Um, sure. That's alright."

"Great. Well, I guess we'll see you both on Monday." Sango said as she pulled Miroku our of the movie theater.

InuYasha watched them go out of sight before turning back to Kagome. "You ready to go?"

Kagome nodded then followed him to his car. She then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw it. It was a red convertible with a sliver lining. It was the most beautiful car she had ever seen.

InuYasha opened up the passenger side door and said, "Well, get in."

Kagome hesitantly walked over and then sat down on the leather seat. InuYasha then shut the door and a moment later got in on his side. He started the engine up and then started off down the road.

Kagome go him going in the direction to her house, but told him to pull into the neighborhood playground's parking lot. "Why are we stopping here?" he asked as he cut the engine off.

"Um, I'm going to walk the rest of the way home." she answered expecting him to let it go.

InuYasha gave her a weird look. "But it's late out. You could get mugged or something." he stated.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. My house isn't that far from here." she said as she opened the door and got out then closing it after her.

To her surprise, InuYasha got out as well. "I don't feel right letting you walk home alone. At night. I won't take the chance of you getting mugged." he said.

Kagome didn't know what to think, but he looked so determined that she nodded in agreement. They began walking in silence before InuYasha started to come up with small talk. "So, what did you think of the movie?"

Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "It was okay." she replied and before she could stop herself she blurted out, "That was the first time in years that I've been to the movies."

InuYasha looked at her in disbelieve. "Are you serious? Years? Hell we go every Saturday!" he exclaimed. "Why haven't you been in so long?"

Kagome hurriedly come up with an excuse. "Um, my dad doesn't make enough money to just go out and do stuff for fun." she lied.

InuYasha slid his hand down his face. "Wow! I don't know how you do it." he said causing Kagome to smile.

When they arrived at her house, Kagome waved goodbye to InuYasha as he made his way back to his car. Kagome pretended to be going inside and when he was out of view she dashed into the bushes. She had to change back into her normal clothes. She could only imagine what her father would do to her if she showed up in clothes like that.

When she was finished changing, she shoved her new outfit into her purse, with difficulty. Then she made her way inside the house.

She tried to make it to her room to put her purse up, but was stopped by Naraku. "Where have you been! You're late!" he yelled as he grabbed her by the arms and threw her into the living room. He had told her to be home over ten and it was fifteen after, but Kagome knew better than to bring it up.

"I'm sorry Dad! It won't happen again!" she pleaded.

"You're damn right it won't happen again!" he said as he grabbed her and pulled her toward her bedroom. The shoved her in and locked the door. "You're staying in here until I feel like you've been punished long enough! And that mean no meals too!" he yelled through the door and then stomped away.

Kagome threw herself onto her bed and started crying. He had locked her in her room before. She had spent a week in solitude. Without food. She had to stick her head out the window just to get the water she so desperately needed. She could only hope that he wouldn't keep her lock up for that long this time.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to put some fluff into it, but I didn't want you to forget the problem in Kagome's life that's keeping her from getting close to InuYasha, but let's hope Sango can make it happen anyways. Well, please review and tell me what you think! Thanks!_


	8. Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

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Chapter Seven **

Monday had come faster than InuYasha would have liked, but when he opened the doors to the school he knew it was going to be a long week. He pushed through the crowd fighting his way to his locker. When he put all his things away, he made his way over to Miroku's locker, where he knew Sango would be.

When he got Miroku in his sight, he yelled out to him, catching his attention. He smiled and waved him over. "What's up InuYasha?" he asked as he grinned with a glint in his eyes and InuYasha knew he was going to say something perverted. "So, you excited about seeing Kagome again? I know you two got close Saturday."

InuYasha, expecting something like that, hit Miroku upside the head. "When will you stop thinking like that?"

"Stop think like what?" Sango interrupted as she walked up to them. "Is he being perverted again?"

InuYasha nodded and then found himself looking around Sango for Kagome, only to not see her. "Where's Kagome?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. "Well, she wasn't waiting at her house. We even honked, but she still didn't come out." Sango explained. "She's probably not feeling well."

"But she was fine Saturday." InuYasha said and Miroku grinned again.

"Is our little InuYasha concerned about Kagome?" he asked in a baby voice causing InuYasha to hit him again. "Ow! Come on InuYasha! I was only teasing!"

"Feh, maybe next time you'll learn to hold your tongue." InuYasha replied. "Though I doubt one beating will teach you anything."

Miroku rubbed his sore head as Sango smiled at him sadly. "InuYasha's right Miroku. You need to learn to keep your comments to yourself."

When the warning bell rang, the gang went to their classes. Sango went to Geometry and Miroku and InuYasha went to History.

Miroku sat down next to InuYasha and pulled out his notebook as the their teacher, Mr. Totosai, walked into the room. He starting writing InuYasha a note. Sango had told him on their way home why they hadn't brought Kagome home Saturday night and all about, as she called it, **Mission: InuYasha/Kagome**.

**_So, how did Saturday night go?_**

He wrote then folded the paper in half. Then he quickly threw in onto InuYasha's desk. InuYasha picked it up and unfolded it. He gave Miroku a weird look then started writing.

_**What do you mean how did Saturday night go? You were there.**_

He then folded it and threw it back to Miroku. He unfolded it then looked over at InuYasha like he was crazy. He quickly wrote back.

**_You know what I'm talking about. What happen between you and Kagome?_**

When InuYasha got it and opened it up his eyes widened. He knew exactly what the lecher was thinking. Then he furiously wrote back.

**_Nothing like that, you lecher! All I did was take her home! Geez, I didn't do anything like what you're thinking with her._**

Miroku took the note back then wrote back.

_**Just be careful InuYasha and try not to hurt her.**_

When InuYasha got it back he had no clue what Miroku was talking about and what ticked him off more was that he refused to write back. So InuYasha sulked through the rest of History class.

* * *

Kagome looked around her room as she placed the pot she used as a toilet back into the closet and then placed the lid on it to minimize the smell. She would have to clean it when she was allowed back out of her room. 

She had been stuck in her room for a day and a half now. It wasn't as long as last time . . . yet, but she was hoping she would be allowed out soon. She wondered if she was being missed at school. If they even noticed she wasn't there.

Kagome was snapped out of her thoughts when Naraku suddenly flung open her door and charged towards her. "Do you have any idea what time I was woken up this morning?" he yelled at her as she looked at him in fear and clung to the wall behind her. "Some punks this morning starting honking outside. I wonder who they were waiting for?"

Kagome tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but she knewwhat she was in for. He knew she had made friends and she would have to suffer the punishment.

When Naraku didn't receive an answer he smacked her across the face. "How dare you get people involved in your life! Are you planning on killing them too?"

Kagome frantically shook her head. "No, Dad! I'd never do that!" she cried trying to make him understand.

"Liar!You're the reason your mother and baby brother are dead! How do I know you won't kill your innocent classmates?" Naraku yelled at her, hitting her across the face again. "I specifically told you not to make friends and now you've acted selfishly and made some. Did you think I wouldn't find out about this? You think you were being sneaky, didn't you girl? Thought you could pull the wool over my eyes!"

"No, dad, please! I didn't mean to disobey you!" Kagome pleaded. "It just happened! I'm sorry!"

Naraku rolled his eyes. "Friendsdon't justhappen! You didn't do anything to stop them! You willingly became friends with them! You are too evil to have friends! You shouldn't even be alive! You're a disgrace!" he yelled as he roughly pushed her onto the floor. Then he left the room for a minute only to come back with a broom in his hands. He walked over to Kagome and started whacking her continuously.

Kagome let out a couple of whimpers before he stopped and knelt down next to her. His eyes where glazed over with rage. He grabbed her left arm and then with his free hand drug a lighter out of his pocket.

Kagome's eyes widened at the sight of it and out of panic she started squirming in hopes of freeing her arm. Her attempts were in vain. Naraku gripped her arm harder, causing her to stop. He flipped it on and Kagome started crying even before the flame touched her skin.

"No, Dad, please!" Kagome begged, but her plea only made Naraku bring the lit lighter to her skin faster.

The pain was excruciating. Kagome let out a scream of pure agony. She once again tried to get out of his grip and away from the heat, but he only brought the flame up her arm and then back down. "This is what you get for going behind my back and making friends!"

When he got bored of torturing his daughter, he flipped off the lighter and let go of Kagome. She immediately brought her arm to chest,desperately trying to make the stinging sensationthat was pulsating throughout her arm stop. Naraku grunted as he walked out of the room.

Kagome started to panic. The pain wouldn't stop. It wouldn't go away. She did the first thing that came to her mind and ran to the bathroom only to find it locked. Obviously her father had locked it in case she tried to soothe her arm.

Now what was she going to do? She couldn't go to the kitchen. Her father was probably in there. So she went back to her room and examined her arm. It was raw and beginning to whelp. She gently touched her irritated red skin in anattempt to calm it, but it only made a jolt of pain shoot through her arm.

She walked over to her bed and laid down, cradling her wounded arm. She tightly shut her eyes hoping the pain would just go away. Soon enough she blacked out from the world of feeling.

_A doctor came out of the emergency room wiping the sweat off his forehead. A man got off one of the waiting room's chairs leaving his nine year old daughter, who had cried herself to sleep, in the chair beside his._

_"How is my wife, doctor? Is she going to be all right?" he whispered desperately, not wanting wake up his daughter. "And what of my son?"_

_Kagome sat silently in her chair pretending to be asleep as she watched her father and the doctor. She had been praying half the night that her mother and Sota would be all right, but something about the doctor's eyes pained her heart. Her mother just had to be all right and so did Sota._

_"I'm sorry Mr. Higurashi. We did all we could to revive her, but she had lost so much blood . . . She didn't make it through her surgery. There was nothing we could do." he said gravely. "As for your son, he was pronounced dead when he arrived. I'm sorry for your losses." _

_Naraku, who had broken down in tears, nodded in understanding. "Thank you. I know you did you best to try and save them." he choked out as he wiped his eyes._

_Kagome felt tears sting the back of her eyes again. There was no way they could be dead. They couldn't be gone. This was her mother and brother they were talking about. How could they be gone? _

_Kagome tried to picture her mother not making breakfast in the morning or Sota not crying in the middle of the night, causing her to wake up, but she couldn't. They were a part of her life. How could they be gone just like that?_

_Naraku walked back over to his daughter and gently shook her. "Kagome. Come on, we got to go home." he whispered. Kagome lifted her head up and stared at her father, silently asking him if it were true. He quickly looked away from her and started walked toward the elevator. She hurriedly caught up to him as the doors opened for them._

_On the way home the drive was quite and Naraku stopped by a place Kagome had never seen him stop at before. A liquor store._

_Naraku cut off the engine and walked inside. Kagome waited patiently for her father to return and when he did he was carrying a bottle of vodka. He opened the truck door and sat down as he opened up the bottle. Then he took a huge gulp and started up the car up again._

_All the way home Naraku would take big gulps of the vodka and when they got home he staggered inside. Kagome watched him wearily. She had never seen her father like this before and she didn't really like it._

_She walked over to him as he steadied himself by grabbing onto the couch's arm rest. "Dad?" Kagome asked making Naraku look at her. "Are you all right?"_

_Naraku's gaze turned from confusion to rage. "You!" he yelled making Kagome jump. "You're the one who killed them! You're the reason their dead! You killed them!"_

_Kagome looked at her father fearfully. "What? Wh-what are you talking about?" she asked timidly. _

_He swayed as he grabbed Kagome's arm. "If you had done what you were supposed to have done they would still be here!" he shouted, then he staggered over to the couch and suddenly passed out._

_Kagome stood near the couch and watched her father sleep while tears fell out of her eyes. She told herself that he didn't mean what he had said, then made her way up the stairs to her room._

* * *

InuYasha walked out of the school, glad that it was finally over. He had just finished going around toKagome's classes, picking up her homework for her and he was going to dropit off at her house. 

He started to make his way over to his car when he heard Miroku's voice calling for him. He turned around to find Miroku running toward him. "Hey wait up InuYasha! Sango and I are heading down to The Laud. You coming?" he asked as Sango walked up to join their conversation.

The Laud was a little restaurant in town where all the teenagers hung out. "I probably will when I get done dropping off Kagome's homework." he replied and received grins from both Sango and Miroku. "I just don't want her to fall behind in her studies." He knew it was a lame excuse, but he didn't want them jumping to conclusions.

Sango grabbed Kagome's books out of his hands. She wanted InuYasha to get to know Kagome, but not end up obsessed with her. "I'll take Kagome her homework. You guys go ahead and I'll meet you there."

InuYasha looked taken aback and was about to voice his argument... um thoughts, but Miroku beat him to it. "And how, may I ask, are you going to take Kagome her homework when you don't have a car?" he asked and Sango smiled at him seductively.

"Well," she started as she ran her hands up his chest and then hooked her arms around his neck while holding on to Kagome's books, "I was hoping you would ride with InuYasha and I could use your car."

Miroku shook his head. "No." he replied, but Sango gave him a pleading look and he gave in. "Fine, but I don't want to find one scratch on my baby."

Sango pouted. "I thought I was your baby?"

Miroku smiled at her. "No, you're my love." he said as he captured her lips with his.

InuYasha rolled his eyes at the couple. "I am perfectly capable of taking Kagome her homework." he said as he tried to grab the books out of Sango's hands, but she maneuvered them out of his reach.

She pulled out of her boyfriend's kiss and shook her finger at InuYasha. "Down, boy." she teased making him growl. "Come on, InuYasha, I just want to see if Kagome's okay. I'll tell you ever detail. Promise. Just let Miroku go with you."

"Feh." he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's go Miroku."

Miroku grinned at Sango and tossed her his keys before following InuYasha to his car.

* * *

_Well, here's chapter seven and I finally have a beta reader! I'd like to say a special thanks to __Hanikamiya __for doing this for me and putting up with my typos! She also gives me advice for my story! _

_Well, I hoped you enjoyed it! Please R&R!_


	9. Something's Going On

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring her bedroom ceiling. She sat up a little too fast and felt the reason she had blacked out shoot pain through her. She looked down at her now whelped arm and grimaced. She knew her having friends would come out sooner or later. She was just hoping it would be later.

Kagome was brought out of her thoughts when her father barged into her room. He glared at her when he said, "There's someone here to see you." but his eyes were telling her to get rid of whomever it was and that she was going to get later.

She sighed as she made her way to the front door. She was shocked to see Sango standing there holding school books. "Hey Kagome. I brought your homework for you. I'm guessing you're not feeling well?"

Kagome quickly looked down at her exposed arm and panicked. She moved her arm behind her and then with her other hand pushed down her sleeve despite the pain. "Yeah." She lied as she glanced over her shoulder to see if her father was anywhere near them.

"Well, if you're feeling any better you're welcome to join us down at The Laud." Sango replied and then added, "It's just a place where we like to hangout after school."

Kagome nodded, but she knew perfectly well that she couldn't go. "I wish I could Sango." She said as she unconsciously cradled her left arm against her chest. Sango eyed her suspiciously as Kagome's father walked up behind her.

"You must be one of Kagome's friends." He said in a voice Kagome hadn't heard since the night at the hospital.

"Um, yes. I was asking her if she was feeling better then she could come hangout with us. We really missed her at school today." Sango replied.

Naraku looked down at his daughter. "Well, are you feeling better? If you are you should go with her." He said and Kagome looked at him with confusion.

This had to be a trick. He would never just let her go with Sango. Especially when he at just punished her for becoming friends with her. "No, I don't feel well enough yet." Kagome said as she smiled apologetically at Sango.

"That's alright." She replied as she handed Kagome her books. "Hope to see you at school tomorrow, Kagome." Then she walked back toward Miroku's car and before she got in she waved goodbye.

Kagome watched her drive off before shutting the door. "It seems you're smarter than you look, girl." She heard her father say. She turned to look at him to find him glaring at her. She quickly looked down at the ground, avoiding his gaze. "I don't want you seeing her or any other friend you've managed to make. Do you hear me? I don't want you to be the reason someone else is dead."

Kagome looked up at her father with pleading eyes, but didn't say anything against him. "Yes sir." She replied as he walked into the kitchen. She sighed as she made her way back into her room and grabbed her purse off her closet door handle.

The clothes Sango bought her where still stuffed inside. Kagome smiled sadly, because she knew that, however silly it may sound, was the only thing she had left reminding her that at one time . . . she did have friends.

* * *

Sango walked into The Laud deep in thought. Something didn't add up. Her father seemed too . . . interested in what Kagome would do.

"Sango, over here! Sango!" Miroku shouted for across the room as he waved his arms like an idiot, causing Sango to bow her head in embarrassment. She walked over to where InuYasha and Miroku were sitting, then sat down next to her embarrassing idiot.

"So, how did Kagome seem to you?" Miroku asked as he draped his arm around Sango's shoulders.

Sango didn't know how to answer. To her, Kagome looked healthy, but for all she knew it could just be a virus or something. Although, her father definitely gave her a weird feeling. "She looked well, but . . ." Sango trailed.

"But what?" InuYasha asked, peering at Sango, who couldn't seem to finish her sentence. "What happened Sango?"

Sango let out a sigh. "Well, I met her father," She replied, "And . . . I don't know, he just . . . he just gave me a weird feeling is all."

"A weird feeling? How so?" InuYasha asked.

Sango told Miroku and InuYasha about how she had asked Kagome to join them if she was feeling up to it and how her father walked up behind her. "It just seemed like he was testing her." She finished.

"Testing her?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah. Like he wanted to see if she'd actually leave with me." Sango said as she tried to make sense of everything. "He just gave me a bad feeling."

InuYasha didn't know what to think. Kagome's father was testing her? Oh how he wished he had brought Kagome her homework so he could witnessed this so called "test", but he was soon brought out of his thoughts by Sango's cell phone.

Sango flipped open her phone. "Hello? . . . Oh hey Dad . . . I'm at The Laud with Miroku and InuYasha . . . What is it?" Sango asked as her eyes went wide. She looked over at the guys as she placed her hand on the receiver. "I'll be right back." And with that, she walked toward the girls bathroom.

Miroku raised an eyebrow at InuYasha."I smell trouble." He said as InuYasha nodded in agreement."So . . . what do you think about Kagome's father?"

"No clue, but I'm wishing I could have been there." He replied."Do you think her father was the reason she missed school today?"

Miroku nodded."That's exactly what I was thinking.She said that her mother died when she was nine, right?"

"And her brother." He added as Miroku looked at him in confusion."She told me her mother and brother died in a car/train accident."

Miroku seemed to be considering this."Maybe Sango's reading too much into this.I mean, maybe today's the anniversary of their deaths and she wanted to stay out of school?"

"Maybe." InuYasha replied, but something was telling him that it wasn't something as simple as that.

At that moment, Sango walked back over to them and sat down saying, "I can't believe this!"

"What happened Sango?" Miroku asked."You seemed distressed when you walked away."

"That's an understatement." She mumbled, then she sighed."My dad and Itsuka are getting married next Wednesday."

Miroku furrowed his brow."Doesn't that seem a bit rushed?" He asked as Sango shook her head.

"No." she replied."Apparently, they've been planning this whole thing behind my back for six months."

"Six months!" Miroku exclaimed."Why would your father keep something like this from you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" InuYasha asked."She'd be acting like this."Sango glared at him and Miroku shook his head in disbelief."What?"

"Nothing, InuYasha." Miroku replied as he comforted his girlfriend."So, they're getting married next Wednesday?"

Sango nodded."Yeah. I have to go dress hunting with Itsuka tomorrow after school." She replied annoyingly.

Miroku smiled."This is perfect. You can use this time to get to know her." He said as Sango looked at him like he were crazy."Come on Sango.She's going to your stepmother.You might as well get to know each other a little better."

"Fine.If I be nice will you get off my back about this?" She asked as Miroku nodded. "Good." Then, she brought him into a heated kiss.

InuYasha smirked at his friend's weird way of agreeing with each other, but when their kiss started to get more passionate, he got up and walked over to the counter and ordered himself a coke.

* * *

Kagome stood at the kitchen stove cooking dinner for her father and herself when hewalked out of the living room and grabbed his coat.He started to make his way to the door when Kagome asked, "Where are you going?" And she silently wondered where she got the courage to do so.

"Out. Dinner better be warm when I get back." He said as he walked out the door.Kagome stared after him wondering how long she would have to keep his dinner warm when the phone rang.

Kagome jumped at the sound and went over to it and picked it up."Hello?"

"Hey Kagome.Sango said you looked okay." She heard InuYasha say on the other end. "So do you think you'll be coming to school tomorrow?"

Kagome was a little surprised that InuYasha had called her and couldn't help the blush that spilled onto her face."I-I think so. Why?"

"No reason.Just thought I'd ask." He replied coolly."So Sango's father's getting married next Wednesday.Sango wanted me to tell you that she was inviting you.Do you think you can make it?"

Kagome hesitated for a moment.She wasn't supposed to be friends with them.Who knew what her father would do if he found out she was going to continue this.No, she wouldn't disobey him again."I don't think I'll be able to."

"Why not?Sango's going to want to have all her friends there." He replied and Kagome froze at the word.

She kept telling herself that they weren't her friends anymore, but she couldn't make her herself believe it."I know, but I just don't think I'm free that day."

"You don't think you're free?" He asked."What's with you, Kagome?Is something going on that you're not telling us?"

Kagome inwardly groaned.She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up."I just can't go,okay, InuYasha?" She snapped at him, silently apologizing.She didn't want him to hate her, but she just couldn't risk being friends with him or any of them."I have to go."

"Sure. See ya tomorrow." He said as he hung up.Kagome looked at the receiver when she heard the dial tone.She couldn't help but break down in tears.She wanted to be friends with all of them, but . . . Her father's words just kept running though her head.

**_"I don't want you to be the reason someone else is dead."_**

She quietly walked back over to the stove and finished dinner, hoping her father would get home soon so she could retire to bed early.

* * *

InuYasha sat silently at the counter as he gazed at his phone.He couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he had with Kagome."Something's up with her." He whispered to himself. "And I'm going to find out what it is."

"Hey, InuYasha!" Sango hollered from their table."Where'd you run off to?"

He smiled at them as he made his way back over to them."I just wanted a coke.Is that a problem for ya?" He asked.

"What?Did it get too hot over here for ya?" Sango asked with a smirk as InuYasha rolled his eyes.

"Now I know you've been with the lecher too long." InuYasha stated causing Miroku to look at him with a shocked expression.

"How do you know that I'm the lecher?" he asked."She could be the mastermind behind it all." Sango just smiled innocently.

"Nah, it's all you." He said, sending Miroku into a sulk."Anyway, I just got off the phone with Kagome."

"Oh?" Sango asked, much more interested in this conversation. "What'd did she say?"

"Well, I invited her to your father's wedding, I hope that's all right?" He asked and Sango just waved it aside. "And she said that she couldn't come."

Sango furrowed her brow."What do you mean she can't come?"

"Just as it sounds." He replied. "She didn't sound like herself, either.I think you might be right about this father thing."

Miroku and Sango were both looking at him intently now. "Something's going on and I'm making it my personal business to find out what it is."

* * *

_Woot! Woot! I finally got this chapter done! It seemed like everytime I got the computer and had time for writting my brothers would want the computer. So, that started a few fights, but I finally got it done! Hope you all enjoyed it!_


	10. How Did That Happen?

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

The next morning, Miroku was on his way to pickup Kagome, when he noticed her walking on the sidewalk. He drove up to her and started driving at the rate she was walking. He rolled down the window and hollered. "Hey Kagome, I didn't know you were in a hurry to get to school today."

To Miroku's surprise, she didn't answer and kept on walking. He blinked in confusion before saying, "Kagome, did you hear me?". She kept walking. Miroku didn't know what was going on, but InuYasha had been right. She wasn't acting like herself.

Miroku sighed. Well, if she was going to ignore him, then he just had to make her notice him. He honked the horn until she cringed and turned around. "Hey Kagome!" He said as she looked over at him.

"Oh hey Miroku, didn't see you there." She lied as she inwardly slapped herself for turning around.

"You didn't see me?" He asked. "But I pulled up next to you and said hi. How could you not see me?"

"Oh, I'm just having an off day." She replied with a fake smile.

Miroku eyed her suspiciously. "Is something up?" He asked as Kagome shook her head. Miroku sighed. "All right. Well, get in. Sango's probably waiting."

Kagome shook her head. "No, that's all right. I think I'll walk to school." She said.

Miroku furrowed his brow at her. "No, I don't think so. I wouldn't be much of a friend if I let you walk to school. So, get in." He replied and when she didn't moved he rolled his eyes. "Don't make me get out and drag you in here."

Kagome attempted to smiled, but decided, why fight it? She was a good distance away from the house and besides, it was just a ride to school. She just wanted to get this over with.

She got into the car just in time for Miroku to speed down the road towards Sango's house.

* * *

At school, Kagome avoided Sango, Miroku, and InuYasha as much as possible. The bell to start first period rang as she sat down at her desk, which was next to Sango's.

"Well, today class we're going to have a pop quiz." Ms. Kaede said, getting a groan from the class. "It's over the skills we learned yesterday." When the class had quieted down she went around the room passing out the quiz. When all the quizzes were out she stopped at Kagome's desk. "Kagome, after class I would like to speak with ye." And with that, she walked away.

Kagome watched as her classmates worked on their quiz. She had gotten out of doing it because she hadn't been there to learn the skills they had. She looked over at Sango to find her staring at her. She assumed Miroku told her about her little stunt. She watched as Sango tore off a piece of notebook paper and started to write something.

Kagome's curiosity was fulfilled when she tossed it onto her desk. Kagome unfolded it and read:

_**Are you okay? Miroku said you were acting a bit strange this morning.  
**_  
Kagome sighed. Of course she wasn't okay. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Her arm was still killing her and most of all, she wasn't allowed to be friends with her.

She grabbed her pencil and wrote back.

_**Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?**_

When Sango got the note back she was a little disappointed. Her friend was lying to her, but if she didn't want her to know, then she wasn't going to force her.

**_I don't know. I mean, if something's bothering you, you know you can trust me right?  
_**  
Kagome read the note slowly. She didn't want Sango being suspicious of her. She just wanted to be left alone before this got out of hand.

_**Yeah, I know. You better finish your test before you run out of time.**_

Sango read what she wrote and sighed. It was official. Kagome was keeping something from them. She could only hope that InuYasha would find out what was troubling her.

After class, Kagome walked up to Ms. Kaede's desk. "You wanted to speak with me?" She asked as Ms. Kaede finished grading one of the quizzes.

"Aye." She replied. "Ye are not busy this afternoon, are ye?"

"Uh--"

"Because I would like for ye to stay after school." She finished as Kagome shook her head.

"I don't know, ma'am. My father wants me home after school and--" Kagome started only to be cut off by Ms. Kaede again.

"Nonsense! Your studies are very important, Kagome. I'm sure your father will understand if ye are late just once." Ms. Kaede replied, but sighed when she saw the look on Kagome face. "How about I give him a call? Then he'll know where ye are and everyone will be satisfied."

Kagome watched in horror as Ms. Kaede called her father up. She didn't want to think about what he would say when she got home. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Ms. Kaede talking to her father. "Hello? Mr. Higurashi? I'm one of your daughter Kagome's teacher's... no she hasn't done anything wrong. .. I just wanted ye to know that Kagome will be staying after school today... she should be home around five... yes, I'll tell her. Have a nice day, Mr. Higurashi." She said as she hung up the phone. Ms. Kaede looked over at Kagome and smiled. "Your father says as long as ye are home at five ye may stay."

Kagome pictured her father saying that with a bit more malice and it sent shivers up her spine. Kagome offered her teacher a smile and nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Kaede. I promise to study hard for that quiz tomorrow." And with that she rushed out of the classroom.

How could she make it home by five if she had to walk home? There was no way she was going to be able to do this.

* * *

When the bell to end the day rang, InuYasha, Miroku, and Sango walked out of the school. InuYasha quickly looked around for Kagome, but didn't see her. "Do you guys know where Kagome is?" He asked.

Sango looked over at Miroku then back at InuYasha. "She had to stay after school. You know, to study for a math quiz." Sango replied as a thought struck her. She smiled as she walked over to him and playfully nudged him with her elbow. "You should stay after with her InuYasha. It'd be the perfect time to find out what's been bothering her."

InuYasha thought about this for a second. "Do you think I'll be able to find out? You said yourself that she avoided all the questions you asked her. She didn't even come to lunch." He replied.

"I think if you play your cards right you'll be able to win her trust." Miroku said. "I think you should be heading toward the library, my friend."

InuYasha smiled as he patted his friend on the back into the school. "Wish me luck!" He hollered.

"Good luck!" Sango and Miroku yelled in unison.

InuYasha headed towards the library, trying to think of a way to get her to open up to him. What if she didn't want his company? The library had tons of tables. What if she moved to a different one when he sat down?

InuYasha fehed at the thought. Well, if she moved to a different table, then so would he. He was going to find out what was up with her before the day was over.

When he got to the library, he saw Kagome at one of the front tables with her nose in a book. He walked over to her saying, "Mind if I join you." as he pulled out one of his text books.

Kagome looked up at him with confusion. These people just didn't give up. She even had to eat lunch in the girl's bathroom to avoid them. Now they were scouting her out in the school's library. "Um, I don't..." but before she could finish he sat down in the seat across from her.

"So, whaddya studying?" He asked, trying to make conversation.He already knew what she was studying for."Ah, math." He answered his own question when he peered over at her book.

"Yeah." Was all Kagome replied with.

InuYasha stared at her for a second before saying, "Do you need help with anything?I mean, math isn't my strong suit or anything, but I catch on here and there."

Kagome merely shook her head.

InuYasha sighed.This friendly talking thing wasn't going to work and he hated beating around the bush."All right Kagome the gig is up."

Kagome looked up at him with a shocked expression.He couldn't possible know about her father, could he? "Wh-what are you talking about?" She asked, playing dumb.

"You know what I'm taking about, Kagome." InuYasha pressured."You've been avoiding all of us and you haven't been yourself lately."

Kagome mentally sighed."Oh, well I've just been busy and--" she started, but InuYasha butted in.

"Don't give me the busy excuse." InuYasha threw back at her."You weren't at lunch and in study hall you wouldn't even look at me.Miroku and Sango said you've been giving them the same treatment.I want to know why."

Kagome put her math book up in front of her face."I've just been busy and I'm not lying." She replied as she felt InuYasha push the book back down.

"Look me in the eyes and say that." He said as he peered at her.

"I, uh, I've jus-just been..." She said as she got lost in his amber eyes.She still couldn't place what it was about his eyes, but she knew she could look into them forever.

"See, you can't even say it." He whispered."Now why don't you tell me what's been bothering you?"

Kagome was struggling to hold back tears as she gently scratched her whelped arm, unintentionally exposing some of it to InuYasha.

His eyes went wide when he saw it.He picked up her arm and carefully pushed the sleeve up, causing Kagome to cry out in pain.He had never seen a burn that big before."Ho-how did you get this?" He asked in a stunned voice.

Kagome trying to pull her arm out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let her."I was cooking and when I went to pulled the food out, being the klutz that I am, I dropped it in the oven.So I had to clean it up.I just left my arm in there too long." She lied.She had planned what she was going to say if anyone happened to see it.She just prayed that InuYasha would buy it.

InuYasha swallowed the lump in his throat."You got to get this thing checked out Kagome." He said as she shook her head."It's getting infected! Come on, I'll take you to the clinic myself."

He courted her out of the school, since the school nurse had already left, and toward his car.

"But InuYasha, I have to be home by five!" She told him as he opened up the car door for her.

"That's the last thing you should be worrying about Kagome." He said as he got in on his side then started the engine up.

As he drove down the road all Kagome could think about was what her father would do if she got home late.

* * *

_I know it's short, but it's just an introduction for the next chapter! It's going to be one of my favorite chapters! I hope you enjoyed this one! Please review! It's what keeps me going!_


	11. Escape

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Kagome was almost in tears thinking about what her father would do when she got home as a nurse put antiseptic on her arm. How was she going to explain this to her father?

InuYasha sat patiently to the side and watched the nurse wrap her arm with bandages. He didn't know what to do. He felt hopeless and couldn't do a thing about it. How did Kagome get such a burn? There was no way an oven could do that and by the way the nurse took it, she didn't believe it either.

"There you go, Ms. Higurashi." The nurse said cheerfully. "Just make sure you change the bandages every four hours and add more antiseptic. The infection should disappear in a couple of days, but if it doesn't give us a call."

Kagome nodded as she and InuYasha headed toward the exit when the nurse called, "Oh and Ms. Higurashi?" Kagome turned to look at her. "Just be careful when you're cooking next time."

InuYasha walked her to his car when she asked, "What time is it?"

He checked the clock on his cell phone. "Ten after five. Why?" He replied only to get a whimper out of Kagome in return. He looked over at her to find her face completely pale. "Hey are you alright? Do we need to go back in?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, but I've got to be going home." She said as she attempted to walk off. "Thanks for bringing me InuYasha, but I--"

She was cut off when InuYasha grabbed her uninjured arm. "I'll take you home. Don't worry about it." He said as he opened the door, the second time that day, for her.

They drove in silence for a while, before InuYasha asked, "So, does your arm feel any better?"

Kagome looked up at him in surprise. "Um, yeah, I guess." She replied. "I want to thank you for, um, everything you've done for me. I don't deserve your kindness."

InuYasha looked over at her in confusion. "Why wouldn't you deserve my kindness?" He asked.

Kagome looked away from his gaze as she shrugged her shoulders. She felt the car stop, so she looked out the window to see that he had parked in the neighborhood playground parking lot. She looked over at him to find him smiling. "Well, I thought I could walk you home like I did Saturday night."

Kagome blushed as she returned his smile. "I'd like that." She replied, forgetting all about her father's threat.

InuYasha rushed around to her side and opened the door for her. "You know, you're starting to act like your old self again." He said as he shut the door when she was out.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" She asked as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Oh, it's definitely a good thing." He said as he shoved his hands down into his pockets. He didn't know what it was about this girl, but he liked spending time with her.

Kagome sighed when her house came into view. She didn't want to face her father. She knew he wasn't going to be happy with her. He'd probably be furious with her. When they walked onto her driveway, she turned toward InuYasha. "Well, thanks for walking me home, InuYasha." She said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

InuYasha watched her walk into her house and was about to walk away when he heard, "Where the hell have you been, you good-for-nothing piece of filth?" before the door was slammed shut.

Now InuYasha might have lost both this parents, but he knew for a fact that what he just heard wasn't a loving parent's voice. He ran up to the front window and what he saw made all his thoughts stop.

He couldn't hear what her father was saying, but he could see him hitting her repeatedly. He saw him yell something at her and then rip the bandages off her recently treated arm. InuYasha noticed that he had a beer bottle in his hand and watched as he threw it at the wall, then go pick up the shattered bottle and throw it at Kagome's face. As soon as he saw her collapse, he knew he had to stop her father from killing her.

InuYasha ran up to the door and wrenched it open. Then he ran over to the unconscious Kagome and checked her head injury. The bottle had left a deep gash on her forehead, but other than that all she had were bruises.

InuYasha picked Kagome up bridal style and turned toward her father. "You are a sick bastard to do this to your own flesh and blood." He said coldly.

"Who the hell are you?" Naraku demanded more than asked, recovering from the shock that someone had stormed into his house.

InuYasha glared at him. "Someone you're going to regret meeting." He replied as he turned and walked out the door. Getting Kagome to a safe place was his first priority. He was a little surprised when Kagome's father didn't come after him, but made a point not to dwell on it.

He ran down the street to the one house he knew would welcome him in. He knew he could get there faster on foot than he could if he went back to his car, that was in the opposite direction anyway.

When he got Sango's house in his sights, he pushed himself to run faster. He ran up to the front door and started ringing the door bell uncontrollably and to his disappointment, Kohaku, Sango's younger brother, answered the door. "Is Sango home?" InuYasha asked as he adjusted Kagome in his arms.

Kohaku shook his head as InuYasha contemplated on what to do next. "She's still out shopping with Itsuka, but she should be home any minute now." Kohaku replied as he noticed the bleeding girl in his arms. "What happened to her?"

"No time to explain. Can I come in?" He asked as Kohaku nodded and InuYasha walked in. "You're dad's not home, is he?"

"No, Dad went to the restaurant to wait for Itsuka when she got done with her shopping." Kohaku replied. "I'm the only one home."

InuYasha nodded as he heard someone pull into the driveway. He quickly walked over to the window to see Sango waving goodbye to the car that he presumed had to belong to Itsuka as it drove down the road. InuYasha impatiently waited as she walked up to the front door and walked inside.

"'Bout time you got here." InuYasha said, scaring the living daylights out of Sango.

"What is wrong with you?" She said as she tried to catch her breath. "What are you--" She started, but stopped when she saw an unconscious Kagome in his arms. "Kagome? What happen to her?"

"It's a long story."

"Don't just stand there! Put her on the couch!" She snapped and InuYasha immediately did as she asked. Sango turned to Kohaku. "Go get some washcloths!" Kohaku, knowing how his sister was, instantly ran toward the linen closet. "Now what happened?"

InuYasha sighed. "I... I found out something about Kagome." He replied as Sango was checking the gash on her forehead.Kohaku returned with a washcloth and handed it to his sister, who immediately started wiping the blood off Kagome's face.

"What did you find out?" She asked softer, noticing that InuYasha looked paler than usual.

InuYasha began telling her about the burn on her arm and how he took her to the clinic. Then how he took her home and what he saw.

Sango gasped at what she hearing.How could a father do that to his own daughter?"So, I'm guessing this is why she was acting strange?" She asked, not wanting to believe what he had told her, but Kagome's injuries were unfortunately making her believe.

InuYasha nodded."It's all my fault she got hurt." He murmured to himself and Sango looked over at him.

"How is this your fault?"

"Because, she said she had to be home by five and I didn't listen." He replied as he gently pushed Kagome's bangs off her bloody face.

Sango sighed."I know this is going to sound harsh, but please don't bite my head off." She said. "If you hadn't have brought her home late then you wouldn't have gotted to see what you did and she would still be getting abused."

InuYasha nodded."Yeah."

Sango patted him on the shoulder."Kagome's safe now." She said with a smile as she went back to cleaning her forehead.When she was done with that, she started working on her burnt arm,wrapping it up in bandages again.

Sango sighed as she stood up."Well, why don't you carry her into my room.She can rest there." Sango said as InuYasha picked Kagome up off the couch.

Sango followed him into her room and watched as he bent over to put Kagome onto her bed, but he didn't let go."Um, InuYasha, you can let go now." She said.

"Feh, I would if I could." He replied."Kagome won't let go."

Sango giggled to herself."Why don't you rest with her then?" She asked."As long as you don't try anything with her, you're welcome to stay in here."

InuYasha rolled his eyes."Like I would try anything with an unconscious girl." He said.He heard Sango laughing as she walked out of her room and he couldn't help the blush that spread across his face as he looked down at Kagome.

He sighed.He must be mad for doing this.Why couldn't he just pull away?Sure, he didn't want to wake her, but there was more to it than that.He felt like he had to watch over her. Protect her from anything that might want to harm her while she slept.

As quietly and as slowly as he could, he laid down beside her.The blush on his face deepened when he felt Kagome nuzzle into his chest.

He absentmindedly stroked her hair as he checked the clock in Sango's room.Six thirty and he was already exhausted.Tomorrow he would ask Kagome all the questions he wanted to know the answers to.

InuYasha yawned as he welcomed sleep to take him over.

* * *

_Kagome ran off the school bus holding a spelling test that she had received an A+ on.She was so excited to show it to her father, who had been depressed ever since the night at the hospital. _

"Dad!Dad!Look what I got!" She yelled through the house, until she found her father watching TV and drinking a beer.

He look over at her and grabbed the paper out of her hands.He looked it over and scoffed. "An A+ on a spelling test.Well, aren't you special?"Suddenly, his voice turned ice cold and he jabbed his finger at her face and hissed, "Get one thing straight, you filthy piece of shit!There is nothing you can do to impress me!Do you understand?I hate you and I wish you were dead! **Dead!** Do you hear me?**Dead!**"

Kagome watched as her father ripped up her test then turn around to watch TV again. She stood motionless as she gazed down at her test that lay like snowflakes at her feet. Even though he had been yelling at her for the last couple of days, this time it hurt the worst and before she could do anything to stop herself, she started crying.

Her father shut off the TV and glared at her. "Shut up!" He said as he got up to stand in front of her.When she continued to cry, he brought his hand back and slapped her across the face for the first time. Kagome was shocked.Tears where still flowing down her face, but silently."I'll give you something to cry about if you want to cry some more! Now, clean up this mess!"

Kagome went down to pick up the ripped up pieces of paper when she felt her father kick her.She cried out in pain as he kicked her again."Daddy!Please stop!" She cried.

"Don't tell me what to do, you worthless piece of filth!" He yelled as he reeled back to kick her again.

Kagome sat up with a start and felt a wave of pain shoot through her head. She grasped her head as she looked around the unfamiliar room."Hey, you shouldn't be up yet." Someone said as she felt herself beingpulled back down to the bed.

Kagome looked up at the person she was pulled down on to find InuYasha looking back at her."InuYasha?Where are we?" She asked as she looked around the room, spotting a clock on the nightstand.It read four A.M.

"We're at Sango's.In her bedroom to be exact." He answered, then his face got completely serious."How long has he been hitting you?"

Kagome's expression changed from confusion to shock.He knew.She looked away from him, only to feel his hand bring her to face him again."You can tell me, Kagome." He whispered, keeping his hand on her cheek.

"Ever since the accident."

InuYasha closed his eyes, trying to get everything to process."Seven years." He said in a voice that was between disbelief and disgust as he opened his eyes to look at her.Kagome nodded in response."That sick bastard."

"But, I deserved it." Kagome said, making InuYasha look at her with confusion."I deserve every beating I've ever gotten."

"What?"

"I always do something wrong," She said in a small voice, "and, I'm the reason my mother and brother are dead."

InuYasha raised his eyebrows in shock."How are you the reason they're dead?"

Kagome told him about the accident, about the part she left out last time. "If I had watched him, he wouldn't have wondered off and my mom wouldn't have had to good back and get him.It's all my fault." Kagome explained as tears raced down her bruised cheeks."I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I just didn't want you to think any less of me."

InuYasha brushed her tears away."I don't think any less of you.You made a mistake, but you were nine years old and the only reason you put him down was because you were worried about your mother.You didn't know he was going to go back to the car." He whispered as he held her close.

"But, if I had listened to what she said they would still be here." She cried."It's my fault and you know it."

"Does he have you so brainwashed that you believe him?" He asked as she looked up at him."He should be grateful that you're still alive,not making you regret what happened seven years."

"But--"

"No more talking." InuYasha said."It's late.We can talk more later.Just get some sleep." He maneuvered himself so that he could get out of the bed, but he felt a tiny hand grab onto his shirt.He looked over at Kagome, who looked at him helplessly.

"Please, stay with me?" She asked quietly. "I don't want to stay here alone."

InuYasha nodded as he got back into the bed with her and, to his surprise, she snuggled up next to him.He smiled to himself as he draped an arm around her shoulders."Good night, Kagome."

"Night, InuYasha," She replied."And thanks for helping me."

InuYasha nodded as he felt Kagome's breathing become even, telling him that she was asleep.He sighed as he hugged her closer to him before falling asleep as well.

* * *

_Yea! InuYasha finally knows! What's going to happen next? Nobody knows . . . but me!_

_Sorry, I've just really happy I got this done! It's like my favorite chapter! Please review! I just got to know what you guys think!_


	12. The Morning After

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Sango yawned while stretching as she woke up the next morning. She had bunked on the couch, hoping it would be more comfortable than her brother's air mattress he had offered her. She was now wishing she would have taken him up on it. Her neck was killing her. 

Sango sighed to herself when she heard the doorbell ring continuously. She jumped up from either fright or reflex, she didn't know, but none the less went over and answered the door. 

Miroku stood in the door frame with a worried expression on his face. "I heard the message you left on my cell phone. Sorry I couldn't get here sooner." He said as Sango let him in. "How's Kagome?" 

"She was unconscious the whole time." She replied before her face filled with concern. "She was beat up pretty badly." 

Miroku shook his head. "I don't believe how her father could do this to her. I mean, it's his own daughter." 

"I know." Sango replied. "Lucky for her, InuYasha happened to come along and save her before it got any worse." 

"That reminds me. Where is InuYasha?" Miroku asked. "Surely he didn't take off after he dropped Kagome off?" 

Sango raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you kidding? I had to tell him to put Kagome on the couch before he would do it, andhe still thinks this whole thing is his fault." She explained. 

Miroku looked at her with confusion. "He thinks this is his fault?" He asked as Sango nodded in response. "I guess I fail to see how this could be his fault." 

"He thinks if he had gotten her home before five like she had asked him, then she wouldn't have gotten hurt." She explained. 

"But, then her suffering would have gone on longer." 

"That's what I told him." Sango replied. "I guess this is harder for him because he witnessed it." 

Miroku nodded. "So, where is our guilt filled friend?" He asked as he looked around the room trying to spot him. 

"Well, I was just about to check on them." Sango said as she walked toward her bedroom. "You're welcome to come too." 

Miroku gave her one of his perverted grins. "Them? Meaning InuYasha slept with Kagome?" He asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

Sango rolled her eyes. "Not the way you're thinking." She said, "He slept next to her because, she wouldn't let go." 

"Uh huh." Miroku said as Sango opened her bedroom door to find InuYasha with Kagome protectively cradled against his chest. "Looks like your mission is just about complete." 

Sango nodded as she shut the door with a smile on her face. "I'm happy for Kagome." She said. "She deserves someone like InuYasha." 

They both sat down on the couch and Miroku draped his arm around her shoulders. "So, how did shopping with Itsuka go yesterday?" He asked after a moment of silence. 

"Surprisingly well." Sango replied as she snuggled closer to her boyfriend. "I had no idea she had such great taste in clothes. I mean, the bridesmaid dresses were beautiful. I... I think we might actually get along." 

Miroku chuckled at her response. "See. All you had to do was spend a little quality time with her." 

"Yeah." She said with a sigh, then she looked over at the clock. "I guess we should go wake them up. We don't want to be late for school." 

Miroku removed his arm so that Sango could get up and then followed her back toward her bedroom. Sango walked over to InuYasha's side of the bed and started to shake his free shoulder. "InuYasha. Hey InuYasha, wake up." She said as she continued to shake him. "Come on, you lazy lard. Get up." 

She heard InuYasha groan as he nuzzled deeper into his pillow while tightening his grip on Kagome, causing her to wake up. 

Kagome blinked. She was still half asleep when she spotted Sango hovering over the far side of the bed. Kagome jumped a little, her disoriented state living her. "Oh Sango, you scared me!" She said, trying to catch her breath. 

"Sorry. I wasn't trying to scare you. It's just that if you don't get up, we're going to be late for school." She replied as Kagome nodded while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Now, all that's left is this sleepyhead." 

Kagome looked down at InuYasha and noticed he still had his arm around her waist and she couldn't help but blush when she realized they had been caught sleeping that way. 

Miroku walked up beside Sango and smiled at Kagome. "Good morning, Kagome. How are you feeling?" He greeted and Kagome couldn't help but smile back. 

"I'm okay." She replied as her smile fell and she quickly looked away. They knew her secret. They knew about her father beating her and yet they still stayed by her. She didn't get it. She wanted to ask why, but she didn't have enough guts to. She didn't deserve friends like them. 

Suddenly, she felt the grip on her waist tighten. She looked down at InuYasha to find him wide awake gazing up at her with a concerned look on his face. She figured he could sense that she was troubled. "You all right?" He asked as he sat up next to her. 

Kagome nodded as she forced a smile, hoping that InuYasha wouldn't question it. "Well, now that you're both up, I suggest you get ready for school." Sango piped up, breaking InuYasha's gaze on Kagome. 

"Whaddya mean school?" He asked, staring at Sango. 

"Ya know, the place where we've going for the past eleven years." Sango inquired. "We're going to be late." 

"Smartass." InuYasha muttered causing Kagome to giggle. "Besides, Kagome's not going today." 

Kagome looked over at him surprised. "Why?" She managed to ask. 

"Why do you think?" He asked her, then looked over at Sango again. "She's in no condition to go to school today." 

"She's fine, InuYasha," Sango said. "And I think school is exactly what she needs right now. You know, to keep her mind from wondering off to things." 

"Well, I think she should stay here and recover first." InuYasha snapped back. 

Sango was about to say something when Miroku butted in. "Why don't we let Kagome decide what she wants to do? Since she is the one who would know if she was up to going to school or not." He suggested as they all looked over toward Kagome. 

Kagome didn't know what to do. She wanted to go to school so she could make up her math test, but she didn't want to upset InuYasha. "Um... I do have to make up a math test today." She said quietly. 

"Ah ha!" Sango said happily. "See, she wants to go to school." 

"Feh." InuYasha replied. "Fine. Miroku let Sango drive your car. You're coming with me." Miroku looked over at him in confusion as did the girls. 

"Where are you going with this?" He asked as he reached into his pockets and drug out his keys. "Why do the girls have to drive in separate cars?" 

"Because they're going to school." InuYasha replied. "We're going to go visit Sesshomaru. Kagome's going toneed a good lawyerto bring down her father." 

Kagome's eyes widened at what InuYasha had said as she franticly shook her head. "No! I don't want to bring down my father!" She cried out. 

InuYasha sighed. "But Kagome--" 

"No!" 

InuYasha sighed again as he looked toward his friends. "Could you give us a couple of minutes?" He asked as Sango nodded in understanding and Miroku just grinned his perverted grin. Sango rolled her eyes as she dragged him out of the room, shutting the door behind her. "Listen Kagome, you're going to need a lawyer." 

Kagome shook her head again. "No, I can't take my father to court! We'll lose and then I'll be in so much more trouble than I'm already in." Kagome explained. 

"What makes you think we're going to loose?" InuYasha asked as he looked at her in confusion. "We're going to win and you're going to be a free woman. You'll never have to go through another beating again. Hell, if we go to court he could be put in jail for who knows how long." 

"I can't." Kagome whispered. "He's all I got. My mother was an only child and my grandparents are dead. Father was an orphan. If we win, I'll have no one." 

InuYasha pulled her against his chest. "You'll have me." He told her. "You'll have Sango and Miroku. I promise you that you wouldn't have no one." 

"But where would I live?" she asked. "If he goes to jail, then I'll be out on the streets." 

"You can live with me." He assured her. "My house is more than big enough for you. You'd have your own room, your own bathroom, everything you'd need." 

Kagome tried to picture her life without punishment. Waking up like she had that morning, feeling safe. Did she really deserve it though? Did she really deserve to live with InuYasha and be happy? 

Kagome felt tears running down her face as she looked up at InuYasha. He was already looking at her. She smiled a small smile. She didn't know if she deserved it, but she did know that she wanted it. She wanted to be happy. "Okay." She said in a quiet voice. 

InuYasha looked at her in surprise. "Okay then," He said with a smile, "And I promise, we won't lose." 

Just as he was wiping off the tears on Kagome's face, there was a knock on the door and Sango entered. "All right, time's up." She said. "Kagome and I have to get ready for school." 

InuYasha nodded as he got up off the bed and walked out of the room. Sango looked over at Kagome and smiled. "Well, let's see what I have in my closet. There's got to be something in there that you can wear." She said as she walked over to her closet and started digging through her clothes. 

* * *

InuYasha walked over to Miroku, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV. "So, you ready to go?" He asked as Miroku turned the TV off. 

"You really think Sesshomaru is going to represent Kagome?" He asked as he stood up ad walked around the couch. "I mean, do you think he has time for it?" 

"That's why we're going to his office," InuYasha replied, "And if he doesn't have time, well, then he's just going to have to make time, now won't he?" 

Miroku smiled. "Now, I don't even feel bad about skipping school." He said. "I just have to see this." 

"Feh." InuYasha responded as Sango's bedroom door opened and Sango walked out. She walked over to then and said, "Well gentlemen, I want to introduce you to the new Kagome Higurashi." 

Kagome timidly walked out of the bedroom wearing a pair of Sango's jeans and a light blue long-sleeved shirt that hugged her curves. 

InuYasha's eyes widened at the sight of her. Sure he had seen her in clothes like that before, but the sight was still new for him. "So, how does she look guys?" Sango asked, smiling at InuYasha reaction. 

"You look gorgeous, Kagome," Miroku replied as he walked up to her and grabbed her right hand and kissed the back of it. "And I'm not just saying it because you're wearing what you are. You look gorgeous in anything." 

InuYasha felt a growl at the base of his throat. Why was he growling at Miroku? He couldn't be jealous, could he? No, that couldn't be it. 

"How does she look, InuYasha?" Miroku asked as he looked back at him. 

InuYasha blushed at his slow response. "She looks fine." He managed to say, causing Kagome to smile. 

Miroku and Sango exchanged glances, before Sango said, "Well, I think we should be heading to school, Kagome." 

"Yeah and we better be getting over to Sesshomaru's office." InuYasha added. Miroku nodded as he tossed his keys over to Sango. 

"Right." Sango said as they all made there way over to the front door. 

They all filed into the cars, Sango and Kagome in one and InuYasha and Miroku in the other, then pulled out of the driveway heading in opposite directions.

* * *

_Another chapter up! I hope you all liked this one. It was going to be longer, but I decided to split it into two chapters. Well, please review!_


	13. In Need of a Lawyer

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Kagome couldn't stop fidgeting as Sango drove them to school. She didn't know how to feel about this whole situation. No one had ever been so concerned about her before, and it wasn't just one person that was worrying about her it was three!

She didn't know how she was going to bring her father down when the thought of seeing him again sent shivers down her spine. He would be so furious and this court trial wasn't going to help any. She wasn't an expert on it or anything, but wasn't the victim supposed to testify against the defendant?

Kagome sighed. She didn't think she could stand up in front of a whole courtroom and tell them what her father had done to her, especially in front of him. No. There was no way she could do it. She would just have to tell InuYasha to forget the whole thing and . . . and what? Go back to her father? He would surely kill her for letting people find out about this.

The thought of going back and living with him like she had been made tears come to her eyes, and no doubt it would be worse. There was nothing anyone could do. She was trapped in her punishment and no one could save her.

"Hey Kagome, you okay? You've been kinda quiet." Sango asked as Kagome pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind.

Kagome smiled and nodded before looking back out the window. Just why did InuYasha want to help her anyway? He had said that he didn't think any less of her, but . . . did he really think that?

"Kagome, you don't have to worry anymore." Kagome heard Sango say. "InuYasha is going to get Sesshomaru to resent you and he's one of the best lawyers out there. You've got a really good chance of winning. Not that you didn't before."

Kagome nodded before asking, "Who's Sesshomaru?"

"He's InuYasha's older half-brother." Sango said with a smile. "InuYasha lives with him. There not exactly close, but with a house that size you could live on different ends and not see each other."

"I didn't know InuYasha had a brother." Kagome replied. "You side he's his half-brother, right? So, is he a half-demon like InuYasha?"

Sango shook her head. "No, he's a full demon." she said. "The shared the same father, but his mother was human."

Kagome rolled this over in her mind. So his brother's a full demon. Is he really as good a lawyer as Sango said? If he was, then why would he help her? Especially if him and InuYasha didn't get along? This all gave Kagome a bad feeling.

"Don't worry about it Kagome. Sesshomaru is going to represent you." Sango said as if reading her mind.

"But . . . how do you know that?" Kagome asked trying to calm her nerves.

Sango smiled over at her. "Because InuYasha is going to convince him to," she replied, "and believe me, when InuYasha sets his mind on something important, he doesn't relent for nothing."

Kagome returned her smile feeling a little better. She didn't know if any of this was going to turn out for the better, but if it did, well, if it did then she'd be might actually have a chance at living a normal life.

Sango pulled into the school parking lot and sighed as she pulled the keys out of ignition. She looked over at Kagome smirking. "Well, are you ready for this school to meet the new you?" she asked and then laughed at Kagome's widened eyes. "Relax. The only thing that will change is that more guys will be noticing you."

Kagome gulped. "Noticing me?" Kagome asked. "I don't think I can do this."

They both climbed out of the car as Sango replied, "Of course you can. Just tell yourself that you are somebody. I know it sounds lame, but considering your self-esteem, it my be just what you need."

Kagome smiled as they walked up the steppes to the school's front entrance when someone bumped into her. She winced as she felt her burnt arm collide with her side causing Sango to glare at the passerby. "Hey Koga, would ya watch where you're going? You almost ran over Kagome!" she yelled at him, catching his attention.

Kagome didn't know whether the guy turned around because he was annoyed Sango had yelled at him or if it was because he was sorry, but when the annoyed look drastically changed to a surprised one she had a feeling he was going to apologize.

The guy, who according to Sango's, name was Koga. Kagome could tell by his biceps and toned legs that he was an athlete. As he made his way back over to them, he kept his gaze on Kagome, causing her to blush.

When he was in front of them, he scratched the back of his head and said, "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to run into ya." He stared at Kagome for a moment as if trying to figure out something. "Have we . . . have we met before?"

Kagome looked at him for a moment before she recognized his name. It was the same guy that had bumped into her on her first day there. She smiled a little as she said, "We ran into each other before."

"Really?" he replied as tried to remember when he had met her. "I don't remember, sorry, but I wish I could. I don't usually forget pretty faces."

Kagome's face heated up again. "Well, you were in a hurry." she said. "It was my first day here and I was looking for the office."

Before Koga could reply, Sango butted in. "Well, uh Koga, it was nice talking with you, but we really have to be heading to class." she said as she pulled Kagome into the school. "He was totally hitting on you!"

Kagome, who's face was still red, looked at Sango with embarrassment. "Really? I don't know. I think he was just being nice." she said.

"Kagome, I know when guys are flirting and Koga was definitely flirting with you." Sango replied. "Just don't let InuYasha know. Lord knows we don't was a fight to break out."

"What do you mean a fight?" Kagome asked as they walked toward her locker. "Why would InuYasha want to fight with Koga?"

Sango looked over at Kagome and smiled. "Because he obviously likes you." she said with a giggle as she noticed Kagome red face. "You sure blush easily Kagome."

Kagome didn't know what to say. "He doesn't like me like that. We're only friends."

"Then why would he be so willing to help you bring your father down?" Sango asked with a smile as Kagome opened up her locker and grabbed the books she needed. "I would definitely take that a sign that he likes me."

Kagome pondered this as they made their way to geometry. InuYasha couldn't like her. There was no way that he could. She was just a girl who didn't deserve anything he was doing for her. He was only doing this because he was her friend and he felt sorry for her. That was all. "We're only friends."

Sango shook her head at Kagome, still smiling. "Right. Anyway, since you don't have an excuse not to come to my father's wedding Wednesday anymore. Why don't' we go shopping after school? I could find you something that would make even the bride jealous." Sango asked.

Kagome smiled back. If there was one thing she was sure of it was that she enjoyed shopping with Sango. "Sure. That's sounds fun." she said as entered the room and sat down at their seats.

**OoOoO**

InuYasha sat impatiently in the lobby as his brother's secretary, and also his wife, typed on the keyboard to her computer. She had told them that he was in a meeting ten minutes ago. He had told her it was emergency, but she said they still had to wait.

Miroku sat next to him playing games on his cell phone. InuYasha looked over at him with an annoyed look on his face. Miroku sensing his gaze looked over at him. "Yes?"

"Agh!" he growled as he stood up and walked over to his sister-in-law's desk. "Rin, I have to see him now! I have to talk to him about a case I want him to take up!"

Rin glared up at him. "Look InuYasha, just because we're related doesn't mean that I'm going just let you come in here and make Sesshomaru take up any case of yours because you've screwed up." she yelled at him. "Now why don't you just go sit back down."

InuYasha looked taken aback for a moment as Miroku came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you listen to her for now. We'll see Sesshomaru when he gets out of his meeting." he said trying to calm his friend down.

InuYasha wretched his shoulder out of Miroku's grasp. "No." he said. "This has nothing to do with me, Rin! My friend is being abused by her father! I want Sesshomaru to bring his ass down!"

Rin looked up at InuYasha in surprise. "She's being abused?" she replied with empathy. InuYasha knew that when Rin's family died when she was little, the orphanage had abused her. Rin had tears in her eyes. "I tell Sesshomaru right away."

Rin picked up the phone and called his office. "Hey honey . . . well InuYasha's here and he has a case for you . . . no it's got nothing to do with him . . . it's one of his friends . . . no they didn't break the law . . . you're going to take the case . . . since I became your wife that's when . . . she's been abused by her father . . . thanks sweetheart." she said as she hung up the phone. She looked over at the two guys and said with a smile in a professional voice. "Mr. Takahashi will see you now."

"What about his meeting?" InuYasha asked as she crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh well, he told me that if anyone came in today to tell them that he was in a meeting." she said with a smiled then she looked back over at her computer.

InuYasha shook his head. How his brother found someone the exact opposite and managed to marry her was beyond him.

Miroku pulled InuYasha toward the door, snapping him out of his thoughts. When they entered the room, they found Sesshomaru sitting behind his desk. "Hello little brother." he greeted ignoring Miroku.

"So you're going to take this case?" InuYasha asked a little unsure if his brother was just teasing him. "Because if you're not I can easily go find another lawyer."

"Calm yourself InuYasha." he said. "I will take your case. I don't want you going out and blowing my income."

InuYasha sighed as he and Miroku moved over to the chairs in front of Sesshomaru's desk. "Well, when can you set a court date?" he asked.

"I'm going to have to met my client first." he replied. "Then we'll settle on a court date."

"That's not going to be a problem. She'll be living with us." InuYasha said causing Sesshomaru to narrow his cold eyes at him.

"Why will she be living with us little brother?" he said emotionless.

"Well it's not like she can go back home." InuYasha replied in a huff. "And we're the only one's who's got room for her."

Sesshomaru studied his brother for a moment. "I see. You have feelings for the girl, am I correct?"

Miroku couldn't help but let a chuckle escape at InuYasha's widened eyes and red face. "No! She's only a friend."

"Very well." Sesshomaru said, dismissing the subject and getting back to business. "The girl may live with us. I will speak with her later today."

When Sesshomaru went back to his books, InuYasha knew they had been dismissed. Him and Miroku got up and walked out of the office. Only to be greeted by Rin.

"So, how'd it go?"

"Very well." Miroku replied. "You're getting a new resident at your house too."

Rin looked from him to InuYasha in confusion. "What does he mean InuYasha?"

"He means that Kagome is moving in with us." he said and quickly covered his ears when Rin let out a high picked squeal. "Gez Rin! Do you have to be so loud?"

"Sorry. I'm just so excited." she said with a grin. "I'll call the house and have her room made up! I'm finally not going to be the only girl! Don't get me wrong, I like living with you both, but sometimes you guys just don't want to talk about the things I want to."

"Because you want to talk about starting a family and let's face it. Sesshomaru doesn't want children." InuYasha replied as Rin's smile grew.

"What if I said he didn't have a choice in the matter anymore?" Rin asked as Miroku's eyes went wide. InuYasha eyed her suspiciously.

"You're not pregnant. I would have smelt it." InuYasha replied with smirk.

Rin shook her head still smiling. "I adopted a little boy yesterday. His name is Shippo. He's a fox demon and so adorable." she answered laughing at InuYasha's gapping mouth.

"Does Sesshomaru know?" he asked still in shock as he tried to imagine Sesshomaru agreeing to adopting a child.

"No. I was going to tell him, but he stayed the night here working. I'll tell him when he gets home." Rin replied as she admired her newly polished nails. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal? The big deal is that Sesshomaru isn't going to be happy about this, Rin." InuYasha explained. "You know he doesn't want children."

Rin looked at him with a hard expression. "And he knows that I do. He'll just have to except that fact." she told him. "I'm his mate. He chose me, because he loves me. My rash decisions and all."

InuYasha smiled. He had to admit. When it came to Sesshomaru, Rin was his soft spot. That's probably why InuYasha adored her so much. "Well, I guess we'll see how it goes later huh?" he said.

"I guess." she replied. "See you tonight InuYasha." InuYasha and Miroku were about to walk out the door when Rin stopped them. "Oh and InuYasha? Please make sure Shippo is behaving himself."

InuYasha threw up his hand to show he heard her and walked out the door.

**OoOoO**

Sango savagely went through racks of clothing as Kagome stood patiently beside her. She had showed her numerous dresses and skirts before deciding that they weren't good enough. Kagome sighed as Sango once again took another dress out of her hands.

"Sango I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but I don't think yanking clothes out of my hands is getting us anywhere." she said as Sango looked over at her and smiled.

"Sorry. I just want your dress to look perfect. I mean, red is so your color, but I'm trying to find other colors that would look good too." she replied as she pulled out a dark purple dress. "Eww! See this would not look good on you."

Kagome laughed at how much Sango knew about fashion compared to her. She knew squat. A pair of sweat pants and sweat shirt and she was good to go, but apparently there were certain colors that didn't go together. "Sango, what's your favorite color?" she asked as Sango continued to look through clothes.

"Probably pink." she said as she brought her attention back to Kagome. " I mean, I know it's a girly color, but there's just something about it that I can't get over, oh, and that's the color of the bridesmaid dresses! What's your favorite color?"

Kagome pondered the question nfor a moment before she answered, "Blue."

Sango gave her a look before moving onto the next rack of clothing. Kagome stood bewildered for a moment trying not to seem like she had just been blown off when Sango came back over to her holding a sky blue dress. "Try this on then."

Kagome reached for it hoping that she wasn't going to change her mind and take back. She then noticed that the dress was spaghetti strapped. "Uh, Sango, I can't wear this." she said, handing the dress back to her.

"Why? Did I grab the wrong size?" she asked looked concerned.

"No, it's just I don't think my . . . arms will look good in this." she said not really wanting to get into this discussion.

Sango smiled a little. "Don't worry. I just want you to try it on and if it looks good then we'll go to another story and buy a sweater or something." Sango replied pushing the dress back into her hands.

Kagome looked down at the dress in dismay. "Okay." she said as she walked toward the dressing room. When she was inside the cubicle, she slipped out of her clothing and then into the dress.

She had to admit that the dress looked good on her. It was just her arms that made her want to cry. How could she feel beautiful when her arms were so repulsing. Worst of all, she had to walk out and show Sango.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. When she stepped out, Sango was gawking at her. Kagome was about to run back in from embarrassment, when Sango stopped her. "No, Kagome, you look great and don't worry about your arms. I'll find something to cover them up with." she said as she admired the dress some more. A smile formed on Sango's face. "Just wait until InuYasha sees you in this."

The comment made Kagome turn bright red. "What?" Kagome said in timid voice. "Wait for him to do what? It's not like me dressing in this is going to affect him."

Sango giggled at her friend's obliviousness. "Whatever you say. Now change back into your normal clothes. I know the perfect place to buy a white sweater." she said as Kagome walked back into the stall.

**OoOoO**

InuYasha was grinning his teeth by the time Sango and Kagome arrived at his mansion. His new nephew, Shippo, was driving him insane! He just wouldn't stop talking. Miroku finally had to find him a lollipop before he shut up.

"What took you?" he said as Kagome sat down on the couch.

Sango went over and sat next to Miroku. "We went shopping. Kagome needed a dress for my father's wedding. You guys are going to love it!" she explained as she smiled at them all.

"Well, I can't wait to see you in it then, Kagome." Miroku replied with a grin.

Kagome smiled over at him shyly. "Thanks Miroku."

"Anyway," InuYasha cut in annoyed that Miroku had complimented her, "Sesshomaru said he'd take the case."

"Really?" Kagome asked not really believing what she was hearing. "He's going to help me?"

"Yeah, and he's going to talk to you as soon as he gets home. Which should be any minute." InuYasha told her making her feel nervous. "According to Rin and what I've heard, he can set up a court date pretty fast."

Before Kagome could comment a small voice piped up. "Are you talking about my new mommy?"

Kagome and Sango looked over a little boy around the age of six sucking on a lollipop. Miroku and InuYasha groaned.

"Um InuYasha, when did Sesshomaru and Rin get a kid." Sango asked knowing full well that they didn't have children.

"Rin apparently adopted him yesterday." InuYasha told her. "Sesshomaru doesn't even know yet."

"Oh boy." was Sango's reply.

Kagome stared at the kid intently as a smile grew on her face. He was adorable! His red hair ruffled at the top and his cute little tail. Kagome just wanted to hug him.

"Hey, are you okay Kagome?" InuYasha asked as he waved a hand in front of her face.

She shook out of her gaze and stared at InuYasha. "Sorry, I just think he's adorable." she replied.

"The runt over there?" he asked as he pointed a finger over at him. "What's adorable about him?"

"I don't know. Everything." she said as she walked over to the child and sat next to him. "Hi I'm Kagome, who are you?" she asked. She had always liked kids even if she wasn't around them. She couldn't believe she had this much courage to come over and talk to him.

"Shippo." he replied in a sweet voice.

She smiled. She didn't know why, but this kid reminded her of her baby brother. How she missed him.

She brought a hand up and stroked his head. "Nice to meet you Shippo."

Shippo wagged his tail in delight. "You're nice." he replied as he pushed his lollipop in her direction. "You can have it if you want."

Kagome's smile grew. "That's okay. Why don't you finish it?" she said as Shippo greedily stuck it back into his mouth.

Kagome giggled as someone clearing their throat caught everyone in the room's attention. Shippo looked up and saw his new mommy standing next to a man with long silver hair. "Mommy!" he squealed as he ran into her arms.

Sesshomaru glared at his mate. "We will talk about this later." he told her. She had apparently told him before hand. Rin smiled slyly.

"Well, I guess I'll take Shippo to his room now." she said dismissing herself from the room.

When Rin and Shippo were both out of the room, Sesshomaru turned back toward the group. "Which one of you is Kagome?" he asked.

Kagome gulped. The look in the man's eyes was emotionless. How was he going to help her when he didn't have any emotions.

She timidly stood up. "Hi."

"Very well. I take it you know that I'm you're lawyer, Sesshomaru Takahashi." he said and Kagome nodded in response. "Then I guess you know what kind of charges you are pressing against your father? Abuse is something not taken lightly with me of this country."

Kagome nodded again. She felt so nervous around someone with so much authority.

"We could do this without proof, but it would help." he said as Kagome looked toward the ground and lifted up her sleeve and shoved him her bruised right arm. Her burnt arm was still in bandages.

Sesshomaru pulled out his notebook and wrote down what he saw. "Do we have any witnesses to this?" he asked looking from one teenager to the next.

"I witnessed it." InuYasha spoke up as he looked from Kagome to his older brother. "I saw him beat her and then give the gash she has on her forehead."

Sesshomaru nodded as he wrote down what InuYasha said. "Good." he muttered to himself before looking up at Kagome. "Well Miss Higurashi, I've called in a trail date."

Everyone looked at Sesshomaru waiting for him to tell them when it was going to be. "It was be next Thursday. You do know you will have to testify on this date?" he asked as Kagome gulped again.

"I . . . I know." she replied shakily. She felt like she was going to throw up. How could she testify against her father? Kagome was brought out of her thoughts when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up to find InuYasha smiling at her.

"So, what are the chances of her winning?" Miroku asked as Sango gripped his hand.

Sesshomaru looked over at him. "Well, considering the amount of evidence we've got . . . Very likely." he replied. "Now if you all will excuse me, I have an issue to discuss with my wife."

Sango watched Sesshomaru exit the room, before she ran over to Kagome and hugged her, being careful not to hurt her. "I'm so happy for you!" she said as she pulled away.

Kagome smiled as she nodded afraid of using her voice. She knew if she did she would start crying.

"You're one step closer to having him out of your life." Miroku replied as he put both hands on his girlfriend shoulders.

InuYasha pulled Kagome into an embrace. "I promise everything thing is going to work out. You just wait." he whispered so only she could hear. She pulled out of the hug and smile.

"Thank you InuYasha. For everything."

She looked around at her friends. Kagome couldn't describe the feelings she was feeling, but she knew one thing for sure. This was the happiest moment of her life.

**OoOoO**

_I'm sorry if any of you were confused about the title name in the alert thing. But Fanfiction wouldn't let me update. So I cheated and found away around it, but as far as I can see it won't cause any confusion._

_I'm also sorry about the long wait. I started school again and I've not had the time to write. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but I don't think they're going to be as quick as they were. Maybe once a week at the most. I'm sorry. It's a drag for me too. _

_Well, I hope you liked it. I made it extra long this time!_


	14. A Blissful Day

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or the song Amazed by Lonestar.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

The rest of the week flew by quickly and before Kagome knew it, it was the day of the wedding. Since Sango was helping Itsaku with her wedding dress at the church, Rin was helping Kagome. Though she had lived in the same house as Rin for a week, Kagome still didn't know how to act around her.

Rin ran a comb through Kagome's long black hair as Kagome sat in front of a vanity, watching her. She had put her dress and sweater on. The sweater was what Kagome was grateful for. It wasn't one of those old granny-looking ones, as Sango had called them, instead it was more like a jacket. It had thin material and it ended right below her breasts. It went well with her sky blue dress.

When Rin was done combing out her hair, she slightly patted Kagome on the shoulders. "Alright! Now turn around so I start on your makeup." she instructed as Kagome turned around shyly.

Rin seemed to notice because she said, "Relax Kagome, it's not like I've never used makeup before. I know what I'm doing." Kagome couldn't help but smile at her. She was simply glowing and it wasn't even her wedding day . . . it must have had something to do with the newest addition to her family.

Kagome let her shoulders relax as she thought about the little boy who got excited each time he saw his new mother and loved to bug his uncle any chance he could. "So, huh Rin, I take it Shippo feels more at home now?" Kagome asked feeling the silence had gone on long enough.

Rin pulled out a tube of mascara and started to unscrew the top. "Oh yeah. The little guy is practically in love with the place. I will say, I was really worried when Sesshomaru first found out about him though." she said as she swiped the mascara wand across Kagome's right eyelashes. "You wouldn't believe how mad he was! You would have thought that he had no clue that I was going to adopt him!"

Rin was about to swipe the other eye, but Kagome pulled back a little confused. "But I thought he didn't know?"

Rin looked a little taken aback, but then her expression changed to thoughtful one. "Oh, well, I didn't tell him exactly that I was adopting him, but I did tell him that we should think about adopting since he didn't want to have a baby waking us up in the middle of the night. It's not my fault that he doesn't know me well enough to know that I act on impulses. Besides, I wasn't planning on adopting anyone that day . . . but when I saw Shippo sitting all by himself . . . I just had to take him home."

Kagome smiled and Rin went back to fixing her makeup. Making it so no one would recognize her bruises. Kagome felt content until Rin asked, "So what's going on between you and InuYasha? If you don't mind me asking." Kagome felt her face heat up, but she couldn't move away since Rin was in the middle of putting on eye-shadow. "Oh my Kagome, if you keep this up I won't have to put blush on you! All I asked was what was going on with you and InuYasha. You two seem pretty close."

Rin's blush comment only made Kagome's face brighten more. "We-we're friends! That's all! I mean, there's nothing going on between us." Kagome said a little too quickly.

Rin let out a bubbly laugh. "Kagome, it's obvious that you like him and it's written all over InuYasha's face when he looks at you." she said put the eye-shadow container on the vanity.

Kagome bit on her bottom lip at the news of InuYasha having feelings for her. "InuYasha doesn't like me. Not like that anyway."

"And what makes you say that?" Rin asked as she got close to Kagome's face and started putting on eyeliner. "It's there, sweetie, you just have to know what to look for."

"But I don't know what to look for!" Kagome blurted out. "I wouldn't know what to look for even if you told me. Besides what would InuYasha see in me? He knows what I've been through. Why would he want to involve himself in that?"

"Looks to me as if he already has. Isn't that why you're living at our house? Because InuYasha didn't want you living at your father's house?" Rin asked and Kagome didn't have a clue as to what say. "I hope you don't mind that I know all this. It's just that with Sesshomaru being your lawyer and me being his secretary . . . well I usually know what's going on.

"That's alright. I don't mind that you know. In fact, I already guessed that you knew." Kagome replied as Rin finished up on her eyeliner.

"Well, I definitely think you and InuYasha should hookup. There's been something different about InuYasha ever since he meet you. And I'm not talking about his temper. No, it's something about his attitude. I think he thinks you're his responsibility. That he has to make sure you stay out of harms way." Rin said with a smile.

Kagome couldn't help but feel spectacle. This was never something she thought she'd every have to deal with. Could InuYasha really like her like that? And what's more . . . could she really let herself, after all these years of solitude, fall for InuYasha?

"Well, just let me put some blush on ya and you'll be ready to go." Rin said bringing Kagome out of her thoughts. Kagome looked over at her and nodded.

* * *

"Where are they? We're going to be late if they don't hurry up!" InuYasha said irritably to Miroku as he looked in the hall mirror and fixed his tie. Shippo was on the floor playing with a few toys.

"We're coming! Would ya keep your pants on!" Rin said as she walked down the stairs by herself.

InuYasha looked behind her, trying to find Kagome, but with no luck. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Where's Kagome?" he asked and Rin looked from him, smiled a little, then looked back up the stairs. InuYasha followed her gaze and the sight he saw made him catch his breath.

Kagome stood at the top of the stairs with her hands intertwined in front of her. She smiled shyly at everyone who was now looking up at her with shocked expressions, but the one that caught her attention the most was InuYasha's.

She slowly made her way down the stairs and took a place standing next to Rin. She placed a reassuring hand on Kagome's arm, helping her relax a little. "Doesn't she look gorgeous, guys?" she asked with a little excitement in her voice.

"Of course she does," Miroku inquired. "but she never had to dress up to look it either."

Kagome smiled. "Thanks Miroku, . . . I've never been this dressed up before." she admitted looking down at her feet.

"You look great Kagome." InuYasha said finally getting over his state of shock. Kagome smiled at him and InuYasha felt his face heat up. He looked away quickly pretending to look at his watch before saying, "Well, I think we should be heading that way. Sango will have a field day if we're late."

Rin clearly remembering the time franticly agreed. "Oh my gosh! You're right! We've got to be going!" she said as she grabbed her purse and turned toward Shippo. "Shippo dear, are you ready?"

"Yep!" Shippo exclaimed as he jumped off the floor.

Rin licked her thumb and hurridly fixed his hair. "Well, then I think we're ready to go."

They all walked outside and started getting into the limo that was waiting for them. Kagome slid in frist and was immediately followed in by Shippo. "You look pretty, Miss Kagome." he said in a bashful voice as the others got in.

Kagome grinned and reached over to playfully pinch his check. "Thanks Shippo and I must say that you look simply dashing in your little tux."

"I don't know. It's itchy and I don't like it!" he whined.

"But Honey you look so adorable in it." his mother interjected.

"Then why do I have to wear these shoes? They make my feet hurt." Shippo asked raising one of his feet into the air.

"Because they go with the tux."

"Would you shut up, runt?" InuYasha said getting a headache from the argument.

"Now InuYasha, do you have to be so blunt? They were having a mother/son bonding moment." Miroku said, "It's crucial for them. Seeing as how they haven't known each other that long."

"Keh." InuYasha responded as he crossed his arms over his chest. "When did you become a psychiatrist?"

Kagome watched as the conversation went down hill from there until they arrived at the church.

When they entered the church, Sango, who was already in her bridesmaid dress, greeted them. It was a shimmering pink gown with flowing lines, had spaghetti straps, and a gathering of folds across the bodice that dipped down and moved fluidly when she did.

"Sango my love," exclaimed Miroku as he drew her into his arms and spun around with her. "You look beautiful!"

Sango felt giddy when Miroku set her back down, but not before placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Thanks." she said quietly then turned toward the rest of the group . . . and then spotting Kagome. "Whoa! Kagome look at you! You look awesome!"

Kagome felt her face heat up. "Th-thanks Sango, but you look much better than I do."

"Well of course I have to look good," she said teasingly, "but you look good naturally."

"I would hardly call all this makeup I'm wearing nature." Kagome replied.

"Ladies as much as I hate to interrupt this conversation, don't you think we should be getting to our seats now?" Miroku asked hoping his girlfriend wouldn't pummel him for interrupting them.

Sango blinked at him for a minute before smiling. "Right. It's this way." she said as she lead them toward their seats.

"Thank you Sango, and you do look lovely dear." Rin said as she said down.

Sango nodded in thanks before heading back to the dressing room to check on Itsaku.

As they waited for the wedding to start, everyone chatted with one another about trivial things. Only Kagome didn't join the conversations. She was miles away in her own thoughts. Worries about the next day. About seeing her father for the first time in a week. How was she ever going to be brave enough to do it?

It wasn't until InuYasha nudged her, that she realized that the wedding had started. Sango was walking down the aisle and when she passed by Miroku, Kaogme saw her wink at him.

When Sango was in spot at the altar, the music that etroducing the bride started playing. Kagome stood with the rest of them and watched Itsaku, in her stunning wedding dress, walk down the aisle.

Kagome was filled with envy as she watched Itsaku and Sango's father look at each other with so much love. A smile came to her face as it dawned on her that she might get to marry the man of her dreams after all.

She jumped a little when she felt InuYasha squeeze her hand the slightest bit, but she squeezed it back none the less.

* * *

The reception was held in a big room at the back of the church and the way the wedding planners had it decorated took Kagome's breathe away. There were pink, purple, and yellow streamers everywhere and tables all had heart shaped sugar cookies in the center of them.

The wedding cake at the back corner was perched beautifully on the round table and Kagome just loved how they had a banner behind it saying "Congratulations!".

When everyone was seated, the DJ introduced the new Mr. and Mrs. Fujie. All of their guests cheered as they made their way to the dance floor. The DJ started playing the first song they would dance to as Mr. and Mrs. Fujie.

Kagome had a goofy smile on as she watched the couple dance. As the dance ended, it went into another song for Itsuka and her father. Then after that was the song for Sango's father and his mother, but since Sango's grandmother was no longer alive, Sango took her place.

It brought tears to her eyes as she watched Sango dance with her father. Knowing that even if Kagome got married, she would never get a father/daughter dance.

When Kagome couldn't stand to watch anymore, she excused herself and went to the counter and ordered a coke. Something that would take her mind off of her father.

As the song ended, Kagome sat down at a lone table as she watched her friends dance, eat, and talk with people they've probably only met one other time in their lives. Kagome couldn't help but feel envious of how comfortable they were with practical strangers, but it was because of them that she was going to have a change at having a normal life. She was at least thankful for that.

She was so engrossed in watching Sango go from one guest to the next that she was oblivious to the person, who pulled out a chair and sat down, next to her.

Kagome jumped as the person said, "You look like you're having fun."

"Oh, InuYasha, you startled me." Kagome said as calmed herself down.

"Why are you just sitting here?" he asked, "Go have fun. It's a party."

Kagome looked away from him and down at the table. "I'm not comfortable with partying. I don't know anyone here."

She heard InuYasha laugh, which made her look back up at him. "You know Miroku and Sango and you know me. Who cares about anybody else? Just have a good time." he said, then he grinned at her. "Go dance."

"What?"

"Go dance. Go out there and have a great time." InuYasha told her as a fast song started playing.

"Uh I don't think that's such a great idea, InuYasha. I don't know how to dance to this kind of song."

InuYasha started at her for a moment, then said, "Do you know how to dance to a slow one?" Kagome blushed, but nodded anyway. "Alright then, let's go ask the DJ for one."

InuYasha took Kagome's hand and dragged her towards the DJ booth. The DJ looked up at them and smiled. "What can I do for you two?"

InuYasha quickly glanced at Kagome then leaned toward the DJ and whisper a song to him. He nodded then InuYasha brought Kagome out on the dance floor.

The last song faded away and the song "Amazed" by Lonestar enter the room through the speakers.

_Every time our eyes meet  
__This feeling inside me Is almost more than I can take  
__Baby when you touch me I can feel how much you love me  
__And it just blows me away  
__I've never been this close to anyone or anything  
__I can hear your thoughts  
__I can see your dreams _

InuYasha held Kagome close as the music played. He couldn't explain how much Kagome meant to him. Even if he had only know her for a short while, he was still amazed by how much she had been through.

_I don't know how you do what you do  
__I'm so in love with you  
__It just keeps getting better  
__I want to spend the rest of my life  
__With you by my side  
__Forever and ever  
__Every little thing that you do  
__Baby, I'm amazed by you_

Kagome's heart was thumping inside her chest and she was sure InuYasha could feel it. She kept her head against his chest and listened to the words.

_The smell of your skin  
__The taste of your kiss  
__The way you whisper in the dark  
__Your hair all around me  
__Baby you surround me  
__You touch every place in my heart  
__Oh, it feels like the first time, every time  
__I want to spend the whole night in your eyes  
__  
I don't know how you do what you do  
__I'm so in love with you  
__It just keeps getting better  
__I want to spend the rest of my life  
__With you by my side Forever and ever  
__Every little thing that you do  
__Baby, I'm amazed by you_

InuYasha gripped Kagome tighter as the song neared its end. He wanted to stay like this forever, but he knew if would have to end. He took in Kagome's scent as the song ended.

_Every little thing that you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I want to spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby, I'm amazed by you_

Kagome pulled away from InuYasha a bit and looked into his eyes that held so many emotions. "InuYasha?" she asked uncertain of what to think, but instead of answering her question. InuYasha pulled her lips against his.

Kagome didn't know what to do at first, but then felt her body relax. She gave into the kiss, her first kiss, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

When they pulled apart, Kagome smiled and leaned against his chest. They continued to dance that way, even when the song changed to a fast one.

* * *

Miroku and Sango watched as InuYasha and Kagome danced. "I'm happy for them, Miroku." Sango said squeezed his hand.

Miroku nodded. "Me too. They deserve this. Especially Kagome."

"Yeah. They do." Sango said with a slight sigh.

Miroku with a grin pulled Sango close. "You know who else deserves something?" he asked.

Sango smiled up at him. "And who would that be?"

Miroku kissed her lips gently, then pulled away. "You." he said then pulled her onto the dance floor to join their friends.

* * *

_Another chapter up and running! It's been awhile I know, but cut me some slack. There's only one chapter left after this one! Yea almost finished!! Let me know what you think and hopefully it was worth the wait!_

_Dreamer6164_


	15. The Trial

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

* * *

**AN: ** _Well guys, this is the final chapter. Read it slow and enjoy it! Sorry about the wait!_

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**Chapter Fourteen**

Kagome woke up the next morning with a feeling of dread. This was the morning of the trial. The day she would either be put back under her father's care or see him being dragged off to prison. She couldn't say see wanted to see either happen. He was her father after all and no matter how badly he had treated her, she would always love him.

A knock on her bedroom door, had Kagome leaping out of bed. She rushed to the door, hoping to prevent the person from barging in and seeing her in her nightgown. She opened the door a crack and peeked outside. There stood Rin with a warm smile on her face. "Thought you'd like some breakfast before you head off to the courthouse."

Kagome's stomach did a back flip at the mention of the courthouse. She wasn't ready for this. Who was she kidding? There was no way she could send her father to prison. Not only would she have to do that, but she'd also have to testify. Her testimony would send her father away for a long time if all went well.

Though there wouldn't be a jury. It would all be up to the judge . . . and her testimony. She had to ask herself. Did she really want her father in prison? He wasn't always so cruel. There was a time when he really did love and care about her. Was she a fool to believe that maybe things might return to normal?

"I think breakfast would be a good idea." she replied, "I'll be down in a minute."

Rin smiled and winked. "Don't take too long, I know a certain someone who's dieing to see you." With that said she turned around made her way down the hallway.

As Kagome closed the door she could feel her face flush. Yet she couldn't stop the smile that formed. The night before was wonderful. She still couldn't believe what happened. Her first kiss. The one thing she never even hoped for and it was from the most generous person. What had she done to deserve him? He'd been nothing but kind to her since the day she met him.

Kagome couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she got dressed. She still was comfortable with her healing body so she wore a nice navy blue long sleeved shirt with khakis. After covering up the fading bruises on her face she made her way down to the kitchen area.

InuYasha looked up as Kagome entered the room and instantly caught her eye. They stared at each other, with a mix of not knowing how and not wanting to look away, until Rin pulled Kagome to her seat right across the table from InuYasha.

"So Kagome, did you sleep well?" Rin asked as she placed a plate full of biscuits and gravy in front of her.

Kagome's mouth salivated at the sight and smell of her breakfast. She quickly picked up her fork and said, "Fine thanks." She cut a piece of her biscuit off and made sure it was thoroughly covered with gravy before taking a bite. "This is wonderful."

Rin laughed as she took her seat next to her. "I know isn't it. It's not very often InuYasha makes breakfast and I have to say his biscuits and gravy are my favorite."

Kagome heard InuYasha groan as she looked over at him in surprise. "You made this?" She had never pegged InuYasha as the cooking sort of person.

InuYasha rolled his eyes instead of answering and then continued eating. It was Rin who answered her question. "Uh huh. It's amazing isn't it? He rarely ever does though. Must of wanted to impress someone this morning."

Rin winked at Kagome as InuYasha told her to shut her mouth. Kagome could feel her face heat up for the second time that day. She glanced over at InuYasha and noticed that his face was just as red as hers was. She smiled contently knowing that InuYasha was just as shy as she was about their relationship.

There was the sound of someone thudding down the stairs in the next room followed by Shippo making his entrance. "Momma, what smells so good?" he asked as he sat down in the seat on the other side of Kagome.

"InuYasha made biscuits and gravy." Rin answered as she got up to make her son a plate.

InuYasha sulked as he stirred the remaining of his gravy as grumbled, "You don't have to keep advertising it." Kagome tried her best to stifle the giggle, but InuYasha shot a playful glare her way making her struggling to catch her breath. He smirked as he looked back down at his plate. "So, where's Sesshomaru at anyway? Shouldn't he be here preparing his client?"

After serving Shippo his breakfast, she walked around the table and picked up InuYasha empty plate. "He's at the courthouse. Making sure everything is going to go perfectly. You know how Sesshomaru is."

As Rin made her way to the kitchen sink, Kagome was starting to get cold feet. She couldn't do this. He was her father. All she would have to do is say that he didn't touch her. Her bruises were healing nicely. She could just pass them off as her own clumsiness. Things could back to the way they were.

Yet she couldn't do that to InuYasha. She knew he cared about her and she cared about him, but . . . this was her father they were sentencing.

InuYasha looked over at Kagome and noticed that she was deep in thought. He knew there could only be one thing on her mind giving what he had just discussed with Rin. He got up and walked over to her, then he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the living room. Leaving Shippo to complain about eating alone.

"InuYasha?" He pulled her over to the couch and made her sit down beside him.

He still held her hand in his and she was looking anywhere but at him. "Kagome, I know you're nervous about what's going to happen today, but I'm gonna be by your side every step of the way."

Kagome finally shifted her gaze over to him and he was surprised by the tears pooled in her eyes. "But Sesshomaru said that it would just be him in there with me . . . and a social worker. I don't think you're allowed in there with me."

InuYasha brought his free hand up to caress her cheek. "Don't you worry about that. I promise I'll be there with you."

Kagome attempted a smile, but it was a miserable effort. "I want you there." she whispered. "I don't think I can do this without you."

InuYasha continued to caress her cheek, trying to calm her down. He leaned toward her as he replied, "Then I'll be there." He gave her a chaste kiss on her lips.

Kagome couldn't help the small watery smile, knowing that he was doing his best to comfort her, but she still couldn't swallow the lump in her throat. A frown easily took the place of the smile. "I'm scared about seeing him again."

InuYasha felt his heart wrench at how vulnerable she looked. He pulled her into a tight embrace wanting to protect her from the world. "He won't hurt you ever again. I promise."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Thank you." she whispered as she returned his embrace. She felt safe, like she always did in his arms. It was going to be a big day. One she felt like crying over. Could she really lock her father away?

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid we should be heading that way." Kagome pulled out of the embrace and saw Rin standing in the doorway. Shippo was standing slightly behind her with his face, that was tinted red, hidden against his mother's leg in embarrassment.

Kagome's stomach did a back-flip, but, before she could make herself sick with anxiety, InuYasha took her by the hand and stood up. "Don't worry about it. I'll take her." InuYasha said, "Besides, you won't be allowed inside and it won't be over until around noon. You might as well come around then. There's no use you just sitting outside the courtroom."

Rin considered it then replied, "But I couldn't just not go. Kagome needs my support."

"She knows you support her, but it won't matter if you're sitting here or outside a courtroom. As long as you're there when it's over who cares where you were." Rin sighed knowing he was right. She had a million and one things to do around the house, not to mention getting Shippo enrolled in kindergarten., but she didn't want to abandon Kagome.

Kagome sensed that she was having trouble making up her mind and she didn't want her worrying over something that she didn't even need to be at in the first place. "It's alright Rin. You shouldn't have to sit on a hard bench when you could be sitting on your own couch."

Rin rushed over and hugged Kagome. "If you're sure?" Kagome nodded against her. "Alright, but don't you fret. I'll be there to hug you as soon as you walk out of those doors!"

InuYasha rolled his eyes as he waited for Rin to let go of Kagome. When she finally did, InuYasha announced that it was time to leave. Kagome nodded, said her goodbyes to Rin and Shippo, and then walked out the front door wondering if she was ever going to return.

* * *

Kagome sat on a hard wood bench tapping her foot and nervously chewing her lip. InuYasha took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Don't worry so much." he smiled down at her. "Sesshomaru is the best lawyer around."

"I'm not worried about that." she sighed heavily. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. "I'm just not sure I should be doing this."

"Doing what?" InuYasha quirked an eyebrow looking at her questionably.

"Doing this, taking him to court." Kagome sounded more unsure of herself than InuYasha had ever heard her before.

"Kagome he beat you, burned you, neglected you, and worst of all blamed you for your own mother and brother's deaths." InuYasha said his voice unintentionally rising. "He deserves this, Kagome. You have to do this."

"I guess you're right." Kagome wanted to believe he was right, but her stomach was all knotted up and she just didn't fell right.

"Kagome you have to do this. You didn't deserve anything he did to you." InuYasha took her other hand. "He had no right to treat you like he did. You're his daughter and he should have been there for you when you needed him. Yet he wasn't."

"Yeah." She agreed seeing truth in his words. "But--" She didn't get to finish because at that moment Sesshomaru walked through the double doors.

"I'd like to speak with my client for a moment." he said pointedly at InuYasha, but he didn't seem to get the idea. "Alone."

Comprehension dawned on him as he let go of Kagome's hands. "Well . . . I guess I'll go to the bathroom." he said, "I'll right back."

When Sesshomaru was sure that InuYasha was out of hearing range he began. "We're almost ready for you. We need to go over a few things before we go in though."

"Okay."

"The judge is going to call you up, okay?" She nodded and he continued, "You will tell her the charges. Tell her how your father abused and neglected you. Basically your testimony." He paused making she was keeping up. "Also she'll need proof. She's been briefed, but physical proof is always great way to seal your case. Can you handle that?"

"I think so." she nodded looking unsure.

"Good."

At that moment, InuYasha walked up to them. He eyed Sesshomaru before saying, "Sesshomaru we need to talk." He took his brother by the arm and pulled him away.

Kagome walked out to the other hall to see if Miroku and Sango had arrived yet. They weren't allowed in the courtroom, but they could wait and be supportive.

"I'm going in there with her one way or another." InuYasha warned when Sesshomaru yanked his arm out of his grip.

"You're not allowed, you're not family." Sesshomaru said simply as he straightened the coat of his suit.

"Have you seen her?" InuYasha asked waving an arm in the direction Kagome had wandered. "She's a wreck!"

Sesshomaru glared at him for his stubbornness. "She seemed fine to me."

"She's having second thoughts!" InuYasha countered. He wasn't going to give up. He'd force his way into that courtroom if he had to. He wasn't going to let Kagome go through this alone. "She needs someone there to support her."

Sesshomaru's glare didn't lift. "I am her lawyer. If she needs support than she can seek it out from me."

"She's scared. She doesn't want to face him." InuYasha pressed. "She needs me."

Sesshomaru sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. The judge wouldn't like it. If she even went for it. "Let me talk to the judge." He was about to walk away, but quickly stopped. "You're sure she'll do as I tell her if you're there?"

"Yeah." InuYasha said with determination.

He nodded. "Very well. Let me see what I can do. Meanwhile, you go and get Kagome. Tell her it's time." Sesshomaru turned and started to walk away.

* * *

Sango was the first one to notice Kagome walking towards her and Miroku. They had been sitting in the lobby waiting. "Kagome! I thought you'd be in court by now."

"Not yet, but I will be soon." Kagome glance over at the clock. A quarter til ten. It should start any time now. The thought made Kagome's stomach jump.

Sango brought Kagome into a gentle hug. "Don't worry. You just go in there and tell the judge wheat happened." Sango instructed. She saw the uncertainty in Kagome's eyes. "Kagome you're doing the right thing."

"So everyone tells me," Kagome sighed, "but I'm not sure I can face him."

"Kagome, if you're worried about him hurting you, you don't have to be." Miroku told her as Sango took her by the shoulders. "He can't hurt you anymore." she said.

"It's not that--" but Kagome didn't get the chance to tell them what was really bothering her because at that moment InuYasha walked through the door and told her it was time.

* * *

Sesshomaru reentered the courtroom and the judge looked up at him in surprise. "Where is you're the defendant?" she asked, her tone troubled.

"She has a favor to ask of you, your honor." Sesshomaru replied coolly.

"Hmm." the judge replied. She wasn't very keen on clients asking favors of her. "Very well, what does she want?" The judge leaned up in her seat waiting.

"She wishes to have a peer present during the session." Sesshomaru stated keeping eye contact with the judge.

The judge narrowed her eyes at him. "Is this peer of kin?" she asked.

"No your honor," Sesshomaru went to continue but was interrupted.

"That is not allowed." she said abiding by the law. "You as a lawyer should know that. If this peer is not part of her family then it simply can't be done."

Sesshomaru let out a deep breath. "My client has no one your honor. She's been abused and she's scared. I don't want her backing down because she has no friendly face in the room." This time he continued. "You don't want the charges to be dropped and this girl to go back into her abusive father's custody, do you?"

The judge closed her eyes to let the new argument settle in her mind and Sesshomaru noticed that she was starting to give in. "Very well, she may have one and only one peer present during the time of the session." she offered.

Sesshomaru nodded. "Thank you, your honor." Sesshomaru turned and left the room to gather his client.

* * *

"Are you ready?" InuYasha asked her as they waited for Sesshomaru to return. Kagome had been nervously tapping her foot and InuYasha was beginning to worry about her.

"I'm not sure . . ." Kagome trailed off.

InuYasha put his arm around her shoulders. "You can do this. Just go in there and tell the judge what he's done to you. Tell the truth and everything will be fine, okay?" He smiled at her and she nodded hesitantly.

Everyone was telling her the same thing and it all sounded easy enough, but she could see herself betraying her father. He was an alcoholic. Before the accident Kagome could never recall him every touching the stuff. Maybe if he just stopped drinking everything would go back to the way things were before the accident. Well as normal as they possibly could get.

InuYasha pulled her into a hug and smiled as she remembered how a simple hug used to be a big thing to her mother. She missed her so much. Kagome couldn't help but think of how different her life would be if she were still alive.

She wouldn't be with InuYasha. She would have had different friends, gone to a different school, dated different boys . . . everything would have been different.

The clearing of someone's throat had the couple pulling away from each other. InuYasha looked over at his brother with an anxious look. Sesshomaru nodded, "You're in."

"Good," He looked down at Kagome's confused face. "I get to go in with you. Just like I promised." He grinned when a smile graced her face.

Kagome looked over at Sesshomaru. "Thank you. Both of you. I really appreciate this."

Sesshomaru didn't show any sign that he even heard her thank you. "Just don't forget what you have to do."

"I won't." Kagome was serious again. She felt butterflies in her stomach as the door opened, her hands began to sweat and she bit down on her lip cruelly. This would be the first time in over a week that she would see her father.

She saw him enter through a side door, he was wearing a suit and tie that Kagome didn't even know he owned or had the money for, with his attorney. They all took their seats. InuYasha sat on the bench behind Kagome offering her as much support as he could.

They rose as the as the judge was introduced and then were asked to be seated. "Okay Mr. Takahashi and Mr. Minato, I believe we've been over all the basics at your arraignment, is there anything either of you would like to add before we begin?" she asked.

"No your honor." Sesshomaru answered. She looked over to the other attorney and when he shook his head, she moved on.

"Okay then, Ms Higurashi would you please approach the bar for your testimony." Kagome looked back at InuYasha and he gave her a reassuring smile. She then glanced over to Sesshomaru who gave her a quick nod. She took a deep breath and got ready to do what she knew in the pit of her stomach was right. She went and stood next to the judge. An officer came forward and swore her in.

"Okay Ms. Higurashi, let me start by asking a few questions, you need to answer honestly in order for me to make my decision." The judge looked down at her and when she nodded in compliance, the judge continued. "Did your father, Naraku Higurashi, ever beat you?" The question was harsh and straight forward which let Kagome stuttering.

"Y-yes, he did." she answered after thinking for a moment.

"Did he ever burn you?" the judge asked next. Kagome felt herself grow unsure, she didn't want her father to go to prison, but she knew that she'd be charged for perjury if she lied.

"Yes." she eventually answered, she looked over at Naraku who was sitting pitifully in his seat. He looked as pained as he had the day he found out her mother and brother had died.

"Is there any evidence of this?" Kagome looked up at the judge who was staring intently back. She knew that now was the time to show her the burn on her arm. Kagome nodded as she slowly brought up the sleeve on her arm. The burn was almost healed, but there was no avoiding the scar it left behind.

The judge nodded then continued as Kagome pulled her sleeve back down. "Ms. Higurashi would you say your father neglected you?"

Neglected? He didn't necessarily neglect her. He paid for her schooling, her clothes, her food. The only thing he neglected to give her was his love. "Yeah . . . But . . ." Kagome stopped uncertainty in her eyes.

InuYasha saw that she was wavering. He gripped his seat harder, his nails digging into the bench. "Come on Kagome, you can do this." he whispered in hopes that she feel his support.

"Is there something you'd like to add?" the judge asked eyeing her curiously.

There was a long pause. ". . . Yes, there is." Kagome nodded, knowing she could never send her father to prison.

"Go on." the judge prompted.

" . . . Even though he's done everything that you've asked, I don't think he deserves to go to prison." Kagome said meekly, hoping InuYasha would understand.

"And why is that?"

Kagome took a deep breath to steady herself. "Because I deserve what I got. If it weren't for me my family would still be here. He wouldn't have to punish me if I had just listened to my mother." Kagome went on to tell the judge about the night at the train tracks. "It was also the night he started drinking. . . . It's gotten worse over the years and . . . I think if he stopped, that maybe . . . he could get better."

"And you think that your father, whom harmed you because he blames you fro the death of his wife and son, can change?" the judge asked with curiosity.

Kagome nodded as she looked at the surprised look on her father's face. "Yes I do."

"Well Mr. Higurashi, it seems that despite of what you put this child through, she's still able to love you." The judge stopped for a moment. "I'll need to take a short recess before I make my decision." She stood up and gathered her papers, before walking door behind her.

InuYasha rushed over to Kagome, who couldn't look him in the eye. He took her by the shoulders and looked made her look at him directly. "What were you thinking?"

"I couldn't do it." Kagome looked away.

"Why not?" InuYasha was quick to reply.

Kagome cast a glance in her father's direction. He was still sitting with the shocked expression stuck on his face. "He's my father."

"What about the things he's done to you Kagome?" InuYasha asked incredulously.

"I believe that he can change."

Sesshomaru came up to join in on the conversation. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, his voice cool and his face showing no emotion.

Kagome nodded. "I'm sure."

"Alright. InuYasha leave her be and return to your seat." Sesshomaru commanded. "I wont' have you badgering my client." InuYasha gave his brother a long hard glare before he huffed back over to his seat. Sesshomaru, after making sure InuYasha was in his seat, made his way over to talk to the officer who was overseeing the trial.

Kagome put her face in her hands. She was still in shock. Had she really just told the judge everything? About what happened to her mother and brother? How it was her fault they were dead?

"Kagome?"

She snapped her gaze to the person who had called her name. InuYasha stood before her with his hands in his pockets. "He really does have you brainwashed, doesn't he?"

Kagome stared at him for a moment before looking away. She was ashamed of herself. InuYasha had done everything in his power to help her and she had gone and ruined everything. She hated to think what he thought of her at that moment."

She felt him sit down next to her and she shot her gaze up at him in surprise. "I'm sorry about how I acted before. I can only imagine what it must have been like to sit in front of the man you were testifying against. I wish I could've sat up here with you. It must have been hard. I'm proud of you."

"Proud of me?" Kagome looked at him like her was crazy. "I ruined the whole thing! I wasted you and Sesshomaru's time!"

"Says who?" InuYasha asked in astonishment. "Kagome, you told the judge what you went through. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Granted you had me worried there at the end, but in the over all effect I think it really helped your case."

"How could me telling the judge that I deserved what I got going to help me?" Kagome asked feeling even more depressed.

InuYasha sighed. "Kagome by telling the judge that you believed that what he did to you is what you deserve just proved that he actually beat you. You didn't ruin anything."

Kagome looked at him wearily. She still wasn't completely convinced, but who was she to bring his spirits down. "If you say so."

"I don't say so, I know so. You wait and see. You'll be out of his reach for good after today." InuYasha told her as he intertwined their fingers. "You're gonna be safe."

Kagome nodded and squeezed his hand. A big part of her wanted him to be right, but she couldn't keep the small nagging side of her that knew what would happen if he wasn't.

Sesshomaru walked back over to them and told InuYasha again to go back to his seat. InuYasha smirked as he leaned over and whispered "You'll see." to Kagome before finally doing what his brother asked.

Kagome didn't have time to dwell on her feelings because the judge came back into the room with the verdict.

"In the case of Higurashi vs. Higurashi I sentence Mr. Higurashi to eight months of rehabilitation where he will get over his alcohol addiction and be put through therapy to help him grieve for the death of his loved ones properly. Then I will see him back again and I will decide if he's a fit enough parent to father his daughter again." The judge finished then with the pound of the mallet said, "Case dismissed."

Kagome looked over to her father who being led out of the side door. Kagome didn't get the chance to say goodbye but she figured she'd be better off.

As soon as InuYasha led Kagome out of the courtroom she was engulfed in hugs from Rin, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku. Kagome told them what happened with the help of InuYasha. When they were through once again hugging Kagome in congratulations, a social worker interrupted them.

"Excuse me, but Ms. Higurashi we need to discuss the issue of a place for you to stay. Seeing as you are under age and have not living relatives there will be a chance that you'll be placed into foster homes." she told her sternly. "Providing that you have no where else to go, it would be your only option."

"No." Rin stepped in, taking the social worker by surprise. "Kagome will be living with me and my husband." Sesshomaru gave his wife a sharp look, but with the glares coming for the rest of the group he nodded in agreement.

"Send the paperwork to my office." he said as he handed her his work card.

"It seems like this would be the perfect time from a celebration." Miroku said as he placed his arm around Sango's shoulders. "How about we all meet up at the Laud?"

"Sounds perfect to me." Rin chimed in. "What do you say Kagome? Up for a party?"

Kagome smiled shyly at her friends. "Why not."

"Well, then let's blow this popsicle stand." Sango grabbed Miroku's hand and started leading him out of the court house with Rin, Sesshomaru, and Shippo following.

Kagome was just about to follow as well, but InuYasha tugged her against him. He place his mouth near her ear and said, "Looks like we're gonna be room mates."

Kagome smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Looks that way huh."

"Uh huh and seeing as how I can't seem let go of you this might me the best solution for everyone." Kagome giggled, but was cut off when she felt his lips capture hers. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed. From the moment she met him she couldn't help but feel that he was going to be a big part of her life. And as far as she could tell, she was right.

She couldn't keep the grin off her face as they made there way out to his car. To celebrate with their friends one day at a time.

_Fin._

_And there you have it! Well La De Frickin' Da is finally finished! It's sad, yes, and we'll all miss it, but at least it was a happy ending. . . . For now. Dun dun dun! _

_I'm thinking about writing a sequel. Though I won't even consider starting it until I'm done with Cheating Fate. I have to finish that first. But let me know what you think about the sequel idea. I've already got a summary all worked at for it! _

_And also I'd like to take the time to say thanks to one of my friends. **THANKS ROBIN!!**_

_Dreamer6164  
Well, what are you waiting for? Hit the review button! _

* * *

5/23/08

**AN about sequel:**

_I've finally decided to write the sequel. I've got the title and summary ready to go. I even have the first page done. Yet I don't think I'll be posting it for a while. Cheating Fate and the one-shot I've been working on are going to come first. Sorry. But I'll give you the title and summary to sooth the sting. (lol) _

_Title: Well Woopty Frickin' Do_

_Summary: Kagome's finally getting her chance to act like a normal teen, but just as she gets her innocence back the stats show that her father's preformed a complete recovery. Kaogme's placed back under his custody and she's more than thrilled when he starts acting like the father she use to know, but what will InuYasha do when his girlfriend becomes less and less social?_

_Hope that holds you over until I can post it!  
Dreamer6164_


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